


Mass Emotions

by Giantsketches



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders Needs a Hug, Aromantic Asexual Logic | Logan Sanders, Asexual Logic | Logan Sanders, Boys Kissing, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders Are Twins, Cuddling & Snuggling, Eventual Fluff, Everyone Is Gay, Fluff and Angst, Former Dark Side Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, GT, Gay, Gentle Kissing, Giant Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Giant Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Giant Deceit Sanders, Giant Morality | Patton Sanders, Giants, Hugs, Kissing, M/M, Multi, Pansexual Morality | Patton Sanders, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Kissing, Platonic Relationships, Protective Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Protective Morality | Patton Sanders, Size Difference, Smooching, Tiny Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Tiny Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Tiny Logic | Logan Sanders, Tiny Morality | Patton Sanders, Tiny Sides (Sanders Sides), Unsympathetic Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Unsympathetic Dark Sides (Sanders Sides), Unsympathetic Deceit Sanders
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:34:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 29,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23556145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Giantsketches/pseuds/Giantsketches
Summary: In this story Patton, Roman, and Logan are all certain types of combatants that fight off unstable emotions/traits in order to keep Thomas from developing bad behavior and injuring himself. Virgil a newbie in training and isn't fully seen as a team player mainly by Roman and Logan. Patton is the only one on his side whenever he is feeling pressured.Virgil’s secret of his ability to grow when his emotional core goes out of control has been revealed which is only a characteristic of the Dark Sides. Thus, Virgil finds himself in a dangerous situation that only his friends can help him out of, but first he needs to trust them.Yet, why do the Dark Sides exist and why is Virgil so different from them? What truth is hiding just out of reach?
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil/Creativity | Roman/Logic | Logan/Morality | Patton, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders, The Sides & The Sides (Sanders Sides)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 182





	1. A Tearful Encounter

“What are you doing here?” 

Virgil was clearly flustered and panicked as his voice cracks.

“Hey kiddo, I’m here to help you calm down” 

Patton started to inch closer with his hands clasped together and close to his chest.

Clicking his tongue, “Like you care…not after seeing me like this...like them.”

Virgil shot Patton a sharp glare hoping to scare him off. Patton’s steps hesitate a moment, but he then took a huge inhale and while holding his breath he puffed up his reddened face and glared back at Virgil. Virgil had no idea how to react to that, but eventually began to let out a spree of little giggles. Patton finally exhaled loudly and turned his head up to Virgil with a big smile plastered on his face.

“There’s the Virgil I know and love.”

Virgil began to quiet down and as he locked his eyes back on to Patton radiating with his smile on, quickly he startled to sob. Patton shocked at the sudden water-works, ran to Virgil’s pant leg and tugged on it.

“Hey, let me up, let me up!”

Virgil paused, but leaned down slowly and picked Patton up with both his hands cupped around him.

  
“I’m sorry Patton, but once I looked at you down there…all small, it really made me realize how much of a monster I really am.”

“You’re not a-”

“I am! You saw him Patton, you saw how Roman looked at me. How he drew his weapon on me, fear and anger in his eyes. I’ll always be a monster. I can never go back there either because I’m too dangerous…”

Virgil began to visibly shake, “I don’t want to be like this, I don’t want to be like them either. I thought being with you all would help me change, help me find control. Now it’s all a mess, I’m so stup-”

“NO! No,no,no,no,no!!! You are not stupid Virgil. You wanted to change and you’ve been working really hard towards that goal. Sure I didn’t know who you used to be, but that doesn’t matter because the Virgil I see right now is amazing!”

Virgil was stunned.

“Yo-you really think I’m amazing?”

Patton violently nodded his head in agreement

“You must be the craziest guy I’ve ever met and the kindest.”

To be continued.


	2. A Distressing Memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil is lured away from Logan, Roman, and Patton by a mysterious letter he found in his room saying “ I know what you are. Come confess your sins to me and I may decided to keep my lid shut on the matter.” Without much choice in the matter Virgil decides to venture out on his own and is quickly captured by Deceit. 
> 
> Later on Logan, Roman, and Patton notice Virgil is gone and track him down. Unfortunately, it’s right at the moment that Deceit has completed his mind games on Virgil, who is now beginning to grow rapidly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is flashback 1 of 2 chapters before chapter 1's events took place.
> 
> Disclaimer: Being Pressed Down on/ Grabbed and Held Forcibly/ Being Called a Monster/ Inducing Panic

Virgil was now in Deceit’s clutches struggling to break free.

“Hello there old chum! Seems like your little white lies have become a **BIG** problem! To think you really did find a way to shrink down to the size of one of those weak protectors and then proceeded to **BETRAY** your own kind as well!”

Deceit raised his thumb and began to press down on Virgil’s head amusingly.

“What a fool you are. Did you think they would accept you? A complete stranger of unknown origin just skipping gaily into their ranks and pretending day and night that you aren’t some kind of **FREAK**!?”

Virgil tried to talk back, but his breathing was becoming shallow and he was on the verge of passing out.

“They hate you, you know. They hate you because you’re not like them and they know it. You’re not like us now either, you know what that means right? It means you have no one, you belong no where, you’re a brand new kind of **MONSTER**.” 

The fiend grinned widely with his fangs on full display. Virgil was still trapped in the palm of his hand and his emotional core was reaching it’s limit as he began to panic.

“Ah, there we go. I can feel it flowing inside you, the fear, the panic, the anxiety. If you suppress it any longer you might break and that wouldn’t be at all entertaining so I’ll let you go for now my new little pet.”

Deceit leaned down violently and released Virgil quickly from his grasp. He chuckled a bit as he heard Virgil smack the ground for a hard landing. 

“By the way, your “friends” are almost here to rescue you so please do put on a good show for me. Break someone’s legs or whatever.” he snickers as he vanished into the shadows.

Virgil was left gasping for air and shaking on the ground.

“I-I need to get out of here. If they come now they’ll see me and in this state I can’t control i-it”

To be continued


	3. Growing Pains

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The narrative for this one leaves off when Deceit has dropped Virgil to the ground and escaped as Logan, Roman and Patton are on their way to find him. Unfortunately, Virgil’s emotional core is unstable and he’s beginning to grow rapidly in size. 
> 
> Additionally, as per usual, Roman has leaped ahead of the others to make his dramatic entrance in order to save the day. What he finds instead is the now towering Virgil still growing as Roman titles his head up in terror.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is flashback chapter 2 of 2 for events that took place before chapter 1
> 
> Disclaimer: Painful Growth/ Being Called a Monster/ Fear/ Panic/ Crying/ Screaming

*Off in the distance still a great length away from Virgil, but closing in fast.

“We need to hurry”

“I know! Who knows what kind of trouble that newbie has gotten himself into.”

“Do you think he’s alright? I mean he went out at night, all by himself. He didn’t even ask any of us for help...he didn’t even ask ME for help.”

Patton was visibly torn up inside wondering what he could have done differently to gain enough trust from Virgil for him to have confided in him when in trouble.

Logan began running side by side with Patton and Roman followed suit. 

“Hey Pat, you did the best you could and all you could for that guy. If he couldn’t trust you with whatever is going on right now, he couldn’t trust anyone is how I see it.”

“For once I agree with Roman.”

Roman and Patton both visible shocked at the remark.

“No need for strange looks! All I’m trying to point out is that Virgil is a complicated guy and not nearly enough time has past for you to develop any kind of stable and mutual supportive relationship you both could benefit from.”

“Ditto!”

Patton let out a soft sigh of relief. "You kiddos are the best!!!"

“Indeed.”

“You got that right! Now lets go save that newbie!!!”

Roman shouted as he began to speed up, taking the lead of this now riled up rescue party.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Else where Virgil is experience what can only be called growth pains. Normally the Dark Sides are only able to be giants and the Light Sides are only about to be normal size.

Virgil is the only one capable of size-shifting, but he’s still pretty new to it and thus it causes a great deal of pain whenever it spirals out of control.

Virgil is curled up on the ground sobbing as the pain spreads throughout his whole body. He groans as quietly as possible as he knows that Logan, Patton, and Roman are on their way. 

“I can’t stop it. Even if I try to calm down I can’t.” 

Roman: “Hey! Virgil are you here? Answer me if you are or try to make a sound so I can find you.” Roman had arrived on the scene and was now shouting for Virgil to give him a sign of where he was.

“No,no,no,no. Not now, not like this! AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!”

  
Virgil let out a ghastly scream has he began to grow rapidly in size. His eyes squeezed shut from the sharp pain and ringing in his ears. He stood up once the first growth was through, only to find a now petrified Roman gazing up at him.

“Roman, yo-you need to get away from here. I-I can’t stop it.”

Another shock wave of pain began to swell up inside Virgil has a jumped up another few feet.

“Yo-you’re one of th-them!” 

Roman was trembling as he remained frozen in place. His eyes wide and a cold sweat developing on his face.

“You ne-need to leave qu-quickly, please!”

“Monster...”

Virgil’s eyes grew large and tears began to well up again from the shock of that word.

“Wha-? No, I’m not a- monster...please don’t say that.”

One last shock wave of pain swelled up again as he grew twice as fast for one last burst. He could barley even see Roman as tears covered his eyes. Then the others arrived.

“Virgil?” Patton whispered.

After the others appear, Virgil runs away and Patton follows him.

To be continued


	4. Talking it Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Right now this part is after Patton has helped Virgil calm down and Virgil has started shrinking back down to a more manageable size. They have returned to the base in order to talk things out.
> 
> Obviously, Roman isn’t pleased with this situation though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Yelling/ Being Called That

Virgil and Patton entered back into the base area with Patton riding on Virgil’s shoulder as he continues to slowly shrink.

Patton: “Now just let me handle all the talking, okay kiddo.”

Virgil looked visibly worried about how this was all going to conclude, but gave a weak smile towards Patton as his answer. Virgil had decided to trust Patton from now on. 

“Good, now let’s see whe-”

“PATTON!”

“Found them!”

Virgil stopped in his tracks at the sudden shouting while Patton gave a big wave to Roman who was storming over to them, sword in hand.

“Patton! What are you doing? Get down there this instance and explain yourself and why you brought that back here.”

Virgil winced at Roman’s tone and choice of words. Roman simply scowled in response as he tried to hide his shaking with vain confidence.

“Now there’s no need for that kind of language Roman.”

Patton motioned to Virgil to help him down. Virgil laid his hand out flat against his left shoulder to create a smooth platform for Patton to climb on to and gently lowered him down to the ground. He then proceeded to sit on the ground himself and curl up into a ball as to make himself seem smaller. Virgil didn’t want to frighten or intimidate anyone, especially Roman, anymore then he already had. Patton noticed this and smiled a bit before whipping his head around to pout at Roman’s behavior.

  
“I’m really disappointed in you kiddo.” Patton crossed his arms to show he was serious.

“Me!? You do see that thin-”

“Virgil!”

“Wha-what are you going on abo-”

“HIS name is VIRGIL! V.I.R.G.I.L.”

Patton slammed his left foot on the ground. Roman held his tongue and questioned his next actions carefully. It wasn’t every day he saw Patton so serious and upset. He glanced behind him to catch a glimpse of Virgil looking at Patton and then locking eyes with him, only for Virgil to dart his gaze away suddenly and hide his face. From just that small interaction Roman started to understand a little more about Virgil. That he was just as scared, confused, and worried as he was. He stepped back a bit and took a long breathe as he sheathed his sword. Patton’s eyes widened with anticipation. Roman then bowed his head deeply.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for my behavior towards you Virgil and being blinded by my fear and pride.”

Patton looked like he could cry at how humble Roman was being. Virgil had unburied his face and looked at Roman still bowing towards him. He was surprised and at the same time over taken with happiness.

“I’m so, so sorry for scaring you, I didn’t mean to keep this all a secret but I was so scared of what you all would do with me if you found out.”

Virgil paused a moment. “Thank you for the apology.”

Roman lifted his head back up with a relieved face on. Patton was literally jumping with joy at the beautiful exchange he had just witnessed. This whole moment had really helped Virgil calm down and he was now only 12 feet tall.

“Now we hug it out!” Patton sang out!

Roman and Virgil both shot a surprised look at Patton, but it was already too late. Patton snatched Roman’s arm and dragged him towards Virgil who had shifted on to his knees, arms to his sides.

“Patton what are you planning on doi-”

“Virgil! Catch us!”

“What?!”

Then as fast as lightning Patton slipped his hand to Roman’s waist and jumped straight towards Virgil’s chest. Sensing this action Virgil prepared himself for impact and began reaching his arms around ready to catch the two in a hug. Mission accomplished! Virgil was now hugging both Patton and Roman in a cuddly embrace with his face red as a tomato. 

To be continued.


	5. Making Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we have a still shrinking down Virgil hugging Patton and Roman. Obviously, Patton is being more affectionate with him and Roman starts to warm up to him.
> 
> The start of a beautiful relationship!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Real short one (yes the others are short, but it gets longer I promise!).

Virgil was now holding both Patton and Roman in his hands and as raised them up towards his face for a closer hug. Patton was overjoyed seeing Virgil smiling and Roman, even though still feeling a bit awkward, showed some affection by gently stroking Virgil’s face and leaning against his shoulder. 

“See Virgil, there’s nothing to be afraid of anymore. We’re your family now and we’re going to stick by you no matter what! Right Roman?”

Virgil turned his head slightly to look at Roman’s reaction, hopeful but worried. Roman’s eyes stayed locked onto Virgil’s and he gave him a reassuring smile to Virgil’s bewilderment. Roman had finally realized that this person wasn’t some kind of dangerous monster that needed to be vanquished, but someone lost begging for help.

“Exactly Patton! We’re a family no matter what comes our way.” he said with confidence.

“Do you really mean that Roman?” feeling tears welling up.

“I do. Again Virgil, I’m sorry for how I’ve hurt you and not taking the time to listen to what you had to say. I’ve come to realize my mistake and I’ll work hard to become someone you can also rely on, like Patton.”

“Roman!~”

Patton started shedding tears of joy and quickly crawled across Virgil’s hands in order to give Roman a big hug. Roman was surprised at this sudden action, but eventually wrapped his arms around Patton as well. Then came a small cough from below. Everyone’s attention was now drawn to the ground near Virgil’s knees where Logan was staring up at them. 

“LOGAN?!” all of them shouted in surprise.

“Yes, hello there. If you are all done now with your public display of affection I’d like to speak on the matter of our next steps in regards to this new development.” 

To be continued.


	6. Testing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that Logan has arrived he wishes to conduct some tests on Virgil to see if they can find out more about his strange size-shifting ability. 
> 
> The results Logan expects grow far beyond his estimated margins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Being Tested on/Panic/Fear/Passing Out/ Past Trauma/ Alluring to Abuse

Virgil put Patton and Roman on the ground so they could better converse with Logan. Virgil remained on his knees as he continued to shrink back down.

“Logan! Where have you been?” Roman asked.

“I’ve been back here waiting for Patton and Virgil’s return and I suppose your own as you remained outside looking for them as well.”

“How did you even know we would come back?”

"Patton, you are quite adapt at emotionally supporting others and it was obvious that, even though not the strongest bond, you had made a connection with Virgil. Thus, it was only logical to conclude you would be able to convince him to return.”

“Awe Lo that’s so sweet of you to say!”

“I had no idea you had so much confidence in Patton, Logan.”

“Of course I do, otherwise there’s no way we would be able to work well as a team.”

“I guess that makes since.”

“I’m glad to see you’ve matured as well Roman. Now I no longer have to worry about you being the hot-headed, quick to action team leader.”

“Yeah, yeah I get it! I jumped to conclusions and made a terrible mistake that could have put us all in danger. I’ve reflected on my actions and cooled off a bit.”

Roman crossed his hands and turned his line of sight away from Logan as he sulked. Logan gave a little huff of amusement at Roman’s reaction, but then directed his attention to the slowly shrinking mini giant before him.

“Fascinating.”

Virgil’s ears puckered up at that word and he locked eyes with Logan, who was walking towards him at a casual pace. Virgil wasn’t sure what to do, but thought it best just to stand still as Logan wasn’t armed and he felt no hostility directed towards him either. Still, he felt a slight chill crawling down his back and drips of sweat begin to form on his forehead. 

“To think you had the ability to size-shift and was able to hide it so well from us.”

“I’m really sorry I hide it bu-”

“No need to be sorry, it only makes sense that in this new environment full of strangers that you would have at least one secret.”

Virgil was unsure of how to take such a monotone response, but he felt Logan was at least not frightened by him.

“Now let me get a closer look.”

Logan walked around the mini giant, looking at him up and down until he made a full circle. He then pulled out a pen from his shirt pocket and a screen popped up in front him. It seemed like he was taking some kind of notes.

“Virgil.”

“Yes?”

“I have some questions I’d like to ask you, can you do that for me?”

“Sure.”

“Good. Now tell me, can you maintain your current height or do you have to return to a “normal” height in order to grow again?”

“No I can stop the growing and shrinking at will, if my emotional core is stable.”

“Understood, then please maintain your current height.”

Virgil was a little surprised at the unusual request, but did as he was asked.

“Excellent. So Virgil have you always had this ability to size-shift?”

“I’m not really sure. Sorry.”

“No it’s alright. Let’s see, can you tell me what might have induced this change?”

Virgil froze up at that question. In an instance memories of the Hell he had lived through came flooding into his mind. He gripped his shoulders tightly and began to rock back and forth as panic started to swallow him whole. Logan and Roman remained in place confused and shocked at the sudden shift in behavior. Patton, however, sprung into action.

“Virgil, Virgil, hey snap out of it! You’re safe kiddo, you’re safe. No one can hurt you here and no one will.”

Patton had latched himself onto one of Virgil’s hands and began rubbing his back. Then, just as suddenly as it started, Virgil stopped rocking back and forth and loosened his grip on himself. It would seem he was able to hear Patton calling out to him. He looked down at Patton with a relieved face covered in sweat. Patton was visibly concerned, but managed to break out a petite smile of reassurance. Virgil, then turned his head back towards Logan to answer his last question.

“Escape.” he whispered under his breath.

“Pardon?” Logan raised an eyebrow curiously.

“I wanted to escape from that place and those people so I ran. I just kept thinking about it until the next thing I knew you all found me outside and shrunk down. After that I’d sneak off on my own to test out this ability of mine. I needed to make sure I wasn’t going to return to my original size all of a sudden. Luckily, I found out I could control it, but only when I remain calm.” 

“So that’s why you were always keeping your distance and sneaking off at night. Here I thought you just didn’t like us.” Roman huffed.

“No, it was never that I didn’t like you all but I couldn’t risk you all possibly getting hurt if say I suddenly started growing inside one of the buildings.”

“Geez kiddo, you really are just the sweetest.”

“I’m sorry for my previous question Virgil. I didn’t mean to elicit such a response.”

“It’s alright, I understand.”

“With that being said I’d like to know if you’ve ever tried to grow beyond your set height?”

“Beyond my set height? You mean seeing if I could grow past a certain point? No I haven’t tried that, I never really had a reason too.”

“I’d like to try it if you’re up for it. I think having this data can help us in battle, but also will allow you to better understand your ability as a whole. You maybe able to even gain more control over it.”

“I-I’m not sure. I don’t want to be looked at as a monster anymore then I already have.”

“Patton can I please ask for your help here.”

“Okay. Virgil, I can understand where you’re coming from but I’d like you to trust Logan, to trust us. Trust that no matter what we really are family and we won’t make you feel like a monster ever again.”

“Al-alright.” he stuttered.

“Then it’s decided. Please follow me.”

Virgil stood up at his maintained height of 9 feet tall and slowly followed Logan into what was referred to as the facility. Logan then directed him to stand on the ‘X’ marked in the middle of the room and asked Patton and Logan to stand to the fair side of the room to observe. Logan remained near Virgil.

“Virgil can you tell me what your original height is? I’d like to use it as a baseline.”

“Sure it’s 50 feet tall.”

“I see, so you’re the smallest of the Dark Sides.”

“Yeah.” Virgil shrugged.

“Is that true Lo?” 

“Yeah, I had no idea you had that kind of data on hand. How did you even get it?” Roman had never heard of this so called data before now.

“I record all our battles and had my custom computer program calculate the exact height of both Deceit and Remus.”

Roman and Patton both shouted in surprise, “WHAT?! I HAD NO IDEA!!!”

“Yes well, it wasn’t very useful data in the long run but now with Virgil here it may become of some use.”

“Really?”

“Yes! What I’ve discovered is that both Deceit and Remus are stuck at their set heights. They don’t fluctuate like we previously surmised, but Virgil is a whole other case. He can change his height by will and if my current hypothesis is correct he can out grow both of the other Dark Sides.”

“I could out grow them?” That kind of thought had never crossed his mind before. To be bigger then either of them seemed so unreal.

“I believe so. At first we thought that because of their unstable emotional cores that their size would be just as erratic, but that’s not the case. Deceit has always maintained a height of 70 feet and Remus at 150 feet. Thus, I believe Virgil has always been fundamentally different from them.”

“You think Virgil can grow even bigger then 150 feet tall?!”

“I do, but we’re about to find out definitively if he can or not right now. Virgil, I’d like you to grow to your original height of 50 feet and do pick me up as well.”

“Sure, but why do I need to pick you up?”

“I want to take a body scan of you as you grow to record what exactly is happening to your body when you size-shift.”

“Alright then, let me just get a little bigger so I can hold you properly.”

Virgil then took a deep breath and exhaled to calm his nerves. He quickly shifted from 9 feet to 12 feet tall. He then bent down to pick Logan up into his arms and waited for the okay from Logan to keep going.

“Okay, everything’s set so you can start growing to your original height.”

Virgil gave a nod and started growing rapidly in size, not even stopping once until he reached 50 feet in a matter of seconds. He was still a bit nervous about Logan as he had to move him around slightly as he kept growing.

“There, 50 feet.”

“Good, how do you feel?”

“Fine I suppose.”

\- Virgil glanced over to the far side of the room where Patton and Roman were and gave them a smile to show he was okay. Both of them smiled back and gave two thumbs up for encouragement.

  
“Now I need you to start growing again and don’t stop until you can’t grow anymore.”

“Ah wait. Since you already have your body scan could I please let you down now. I don’t feel you’ll be completely safe being near me if I actually can grow past this point.”

Logan gave a small sigh of disappointment, but understood Virgil’s point. “Alright. Take me over to where the others are and then return to this marked area and proceed.”

Virgil did so and placed Logan alongside Patton and Roman, and returned to where he was before.

“Welcome to the observation club Logan.” Roman teased.

“Put your joking aside, I need to concentrate.”

“I know you just wanted to be held longer, but there’s no need to be so grumpy Logan. We all got our turn after all.”

“I didn’t want to-”

Logan stopped mid-sentence as he figured remaining silent on the topic was the best course of action. Even though his face was slightly flushed red. 

“Here goes.”

Virgil closed his eyes and imagined his body expanding past his current form. This was a similar mental technique he used to shrink, but in reverse.Though he wasn’t sure if he was actually growing or not until he heard a gasp break through the silence. Next thing he knew, BONK! He had hit his head on the ceiling of the facility.

  
“Ow, okay that hurt.”

“That maybe so, but it seems like my hypothesis was correct. You do have the ability to grow past your set height, how interesting.”

“Are you okay kiddo?” he whimpered desperately wanting to go to Virgil and kiss the pain away.

“Yes, let me know how you feel. You should be currently standing at 100 feet, so you’ve already doubled your size.”

“I’m okay. I feel a little dizzy, but that might be because I just hit my head just now.”

“Yes, it would appear that if you hadn’t been stopped by the ceiling you would have grown even taller. This time get down on your knees and keep your eyes open.”

“You want me to keep going? What if I out grow this building? You guys could get seriously hurt!”

“No need to worry. Even I would be surprised if you could out grow this facility. While the ceiling may only go to 100 feet the width is over 1000. Usually this place is my lab, but I’ve cleared it out specifically for this experiment. Additionally, we are standing by one of the exits so if an emergency does occur we won’t be trapped inside here.”

“Alright, then I’ll keep going and I won’t stop this time.”

Virgil got down on his knees and began again. This time he started with his eyes closed, but opened them soon after. He watched as he continued to grow looking around at his ever shrinking surroundings. He even took a quick glance towards his friends at the back of the room, but was frightened at how small they kept on getting and looked away. He then turned his eyes towards the ceiling and shockingly realized how close he was to hitting it once again.

“Amazing, he just keeps on growing.”

“Hey Logan shouldn’t we stop this. Virgil’s not looking so good and just now his expression when he looked at us wasn’t pleasant. Besides, it looks like he’s about to hit the ceiling again.” Patton's voice squeaked from nerves as seeing Virgil looking uncomfortable.

“Yeah, doesn’t that mean he’s doubled his height yet again? Even if you decide to keeping going with this test of yours, you should at least tell him to change his position.” Roman suggested in haste. 

“You’re right. VIRGIL! I NEED YOU TO LIE ON YOUR STOMACH NOW AND KEEP GOING!”

Virgil was surprised by the sudden shouting, but did as he was instructed. He lied down on his stomach and kept growing. The dizziness he had felt before wasn’t going away though, if anything it was getting stronger. Suddenly, a strong pulsing sensation spread throughout his body. It was similar to when his emotion core ran wild, but also different as it didn’t cause him any pain.

*beep* *beep*

Curiously, Logan's body scanner started to beep, “What?”

“Logan what’s going on?” Patton asked worried.

“My scanner is picking up something abnormal happening inside of Virgil’s body.”

“Abnormal, what does that mean?” Roman's voice shaking a bit at the possible implications. 

“Virgil’s not hurt is he?”

“Calm down both of you, no it’s perfectly fine it’s just that…something is about to happen.”

With that final comment yet another pulse surged through Virgil’s body. Suddenly, his growth rate, that had slowed down began to accelerate drastically. By the end of it the three who were all the way in the back of facility were now face to face with a massive, 1000 foot tall Virgil.

  
Roman had fallen down from the shock wave created from the sudden expansion. Logan was completely frozen in place stunned by this unexpected development. Patton was waving his hands and shouting at Virgil to check if he was okay. Virgil, on the other hand was far from okay. He was now stuck in place as his massive frame was pressed up again every corner of the facility. His breathing was shallow and his vision had become blurred. Virgil could barley make out the form of his friends right in front of him. All he knew was that they were extremely small now. He knew he needed to be careful of any slight movements he made.

“VIRGIL! HEY! ARE YOU OKAY? CAN YOU HEAR ME?”

Virgil could hear Patton shouting at him, but couldn’t make out all the words clearly. However, he could tell that Patton was worried about him, but had no idea how to respond to his calls. He was too big to speak without causing some kind of damage so he decided to take a gamble and blink once for yes. 

“VIRGIL! ANSWER ME PLEASE!”

“Patton it’s alright.”

“What do you mean it’s alright? Look at him! He looks like he could pass out at any moment? I don’t even know if he can hear me or see me!” Patton started sobbing from the stress.

“Patton look Virgil is responding to you.”

“What?”

“At his size he knows he can’t verbally communicate at the risk of causing us harm so he’s been blinking a few times now. My guess is one blink means yes and two means no. From what I’ve gathered he can hear you and he is okay.”

“Oh thank goodness.”

“Now that we have some sort of communication established, VIRGIL! IS THIS SIZE YOUR LIMIT?”

Virgil blinked once for yes. Not just because he was stuck but the pulsing he once felt had completely stopped and he was too exhausted to even shrink back down right now.

“So this is his limit, still it’s amazing to behold. 1000 feet is nothing to scoff at. VIRGIL? ARE YOU ABLE TO SHRINK BACK DOWN?”

Virgil blinked twice for no.

“He looks exhausted. I don’t really want to leave him here like this, but he needs to rest first.” Patton begged.

“You’re right. Whatever, happened in those last moments must have used up the remainder of his energy. VIRGIL! TRY TO GET SOME REST! WE’LL COME BACK HERE IN ABOUT AN HOUR TO CHECK ON YOU, OKAY?”

Virgil blinked once for yes.

“Alright, let’s go for now. Patton you can return here after an hour has passed to check on him. I have data I need to sort out and Roman appears to be shaken still.”

“Okay.”

Thus, the three of them left the facility. Logan returned to his study to analyze the data he had collected, Roman went to the training area to get his mind back in order, and Patton stayed outside near the facility door pacing back and forth as he waited for an hour to pass by. He had snacks and a blanket with him for when Virgil woke up. Once an hour had finally passed Patton slowly opened the facility door.

“Hey kiddo you feeling any bet-”

Patton dropped the blanket and snacks to the floor in horror. Virgil was no longer inside the facility. Frantically, Patton began calling out to Virgil thinking he may just be hiding for some reason.

“Virgil, Virgil where are you? It’s me Patton, you don’t need to hide! Virgil?”

Patton was about to go into a full panic when he heard a sudden groan coming from the center of the room. He crept slowly over and was amazed at what he found.

“Virgil?”

To be continued.


	7. Shrunken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton has now found a shrunken Virgil lying on the facility floor? What could have happened in an hour to cause this and did he remember how big he was before? 
> 
> Many questions to answer as the two have a serious talk.

Patton was inside the facility when he found Virgil on the ground near the center of the room. He approached slowly and kept his vision locked onto Virgil’s form. Reaching down Patton scooped up a now shrunken Virgil into his hand and lightly brushes him awake with the other.

“Kiddo. Hey you need to wake up. Something’s happened and I need you to explain it to me.”

Patton was shaking slightly, but continued to try his best to remain still as Virgil began to wake up from his slumber. Patton was relieved to see Virgil was okay, but could feel a stinging sensation poking at his heart. He wondered for a moment if this was how Virgil felt when he held him in his hands for the first time. A constant fear of literally having a life in their hands and the impulse of curiosity that swept through the mind as one gazed down at something so small. A need to protect them and to hold them dear. Such conflicting emotions in constant battle could throw any mind into chaos, but Patton knew that for him, he was not going to be feeling this for long. Virgil, on the other hand, had to deal with this conflict all the time. As Patton continued to ponder, Virgil began pulling himself up and sit up on Patton’s palm.

“Glad to see you up sunshine!”

Patton tilted his head down towards Virgil and gave him a big smile. Again, he worried that Virgil might freak out due to the peculiar situation and end up hurting himself somehow. Virgil was still groggy, but quickly began to realize what was happening. He first noticed he was now off the cold, hard ground of the facility and was sitting on something soft and warm. Next he saw the shadows of four pillars that were fingers looming over him and that his hand was attached to a massive thumb. Lastly, he recognized that all too familiar voice and craned his head upwards to meet Patton’s eyes looking down at him. A shiver ran down his spine in shock at what he was truly seeing. A giant Patton!

“Pat-ton? Wha-what happened to you?!”

Virgil shot Patton a horrified and overly concerned look. He worried that somehow Patton’s growth was his fault and was choking at the thought that Patton would be permanently stuck like this. He squeezed his eyes shut at the mere idea and began shaking. Patton picked up on this reaction, but thought it was because Virgil was scared of him.

“Whoa there kiddo, I’m not going to hurt you or anything. It’s me see? No need to be so scared, you’re safe.”

Patton used his free hand to lightly press his pointer finger against Virgil’s hair in order to comfort him. Though, just having to say those words caused Patton’s heart to tighten. It was no wonder Virgil always acted the way he did when he size-shifted. The thought that Virgil maybe afraid of him was tearing him up inside. Virgil on the other hand opened his eyes slowly at Patton’s words. He was confused as to why Patton would ever think he would be afraid of him and thus took the time to observe his surroundings. Finally he came to the startling truth that Patton had not grown, but somehow he had shrunk. Flustered at his misunderstanding Virgil frantically started explaining himself.

  
“Oh Patton, I’m sorry. There’s no way in this world I could ever be afraid of you! I-I had thought that you had grown and that somehow it was my fault. I was so worried over nothing and it made you feel terrible. I’m really sorry Pat.”

“Awe Virgil! That’s the first time you’ve ever called me Pat! That makes me really giddy inside so no need to worry. Still, I’m glad to know that you aren’t scared but it seems like you also don’t know why you’ve shrunk.”

“Yeah...I have no idea why I’m like this. It doesn’t seem like I can grow back right now either. I think I’m still too worn out from that testing.”

Virgil stared down at his hands and compared it to the size of Patton’s thumb. Sure he wasn’t afraid, but he wondered about something else. 

“We should probably go find the others and see if Logan can give us any answers.”

As Patton was about to rise up from the ground Virgil whispered under his breathe, “Is this how you all felt?” 

Patton stopped rising abruptly, puzzled by Virgil’s mumbling. He gave him a worried look in response.

“What’s up kiddo? Is something wrong?”

“Hey Pat...could we stay here a bit longer, just you and me. I have some things I want to get off my chest before we see the others.”

Patton gave Virgil a smile and sat himself down on the ground.

“I’m all ears!”

“Thanks. I um, I wanted to ask if this is how you felt the first time I held you?”

“What feeling would that be?”

Virgil paused for a moment in order to better word his response. He needed to ask, but at the same time he didn’t want to hurt Patton’s feelings like before.

“Afraid...not that I’m afraid of you, but it’s like an instinctual reaction to seeing something so much bigger than yourself and that creeping sensation in the back of your mind that reminds you that you’re not in control.” 

“I’ll be honest with you Virgil. Yes, I was afraid but not because I thought you were going to hurt me. I was afraid of losing you more than anything.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, you mean a lot to me Virgil. I fight to keep my family close to me and you’re my family. Even if we hadn’t known each other for every long I did know that you were not a bad person.”

Virgil couldn’t help but be overwhelmed with emotion from such words. He grasped tightly onto Patton’s thumb and rubbed his face against it. Patton giggled a bit as it tickled and Virgil was just too adorable. Yet, Virgil still had other things to talk about so he stopped his fooling around and continued.

“That test was really intense. I’m still not sure what happened by the end of it and obviously I have no idea what happened after as I’ve become like this. All I really remember after I got on my stomach was this weird power rising up inside me and then the rest is kind of hazy. Patton...how big did I get?”

Patton twitched at the question. He wasn’t sure if it would be a good idea to tell him yet so he remained silent as Virgil continued,

“What did the others do afterwards? How did they react? I remember at one point Logan asked me to keep my eyes open so I wouldn’t hit my head on the ceiling again, but when I saw your figures getting smaller and smaller there was no way I could keep my eyes open. I couldn’t help remembering how Roman first looked at me back in the forest. That face, I’m still scared that I’ll have to see it again.”

Patton wasn’t sure what to answer first or what to say. He waited for a short while until he began to respond. 

“Virgil, I’ll tell you what happened but I need you to promise me that you understand that you are safe here. None of us think of you as a monster and we would never want you to feel like one either. Can you promise me you can handle what I’m about to tell you and not think badly about yourself?”

Virgil gulped loudly at such a proposal, but knew he wanted to know...no, he needed to know. He nodded his head in agreement.

“I promise.” nodding nervously.

“Alright, to answer your first question you grew to 1000 feet and filled the entirety of the facility.”

Virgil froze in horror at the unearthly concept of him almost overflowing this massive facility. He almost started panicking, but snapped out of it as he remembered his promise and the fact that Patton was unharmed. Meaning he hadn’t accidentally hurt them during or after his spontaneous growth. 

“A-a thousand?” he stammered. 

Patton nodded his head sheepishly.

“I was so worried too. You looked so worn out and you weren’t able to talk. I really thought you might be hurt. Luckily, Logan noticed you were fine for the most part and could still see and hear us.”

“Wha-what about the others. How was Roman?”

“Roman was...rattled. He had fallen over from the shock-wave your sudden growth caused. I’d hate to say it too, but he did look scared. Even Logan froze up for a little bit. He mentioned how you had grown past his expectations so I think that’s why he was shocked. As for Rom-”

“What did Roman do afterwards?”

Patton was growing worried about this train of questioning, but answered nonetheless. He understood why Virgil needed to know. 

“He kept quiet and went straight to the training room to calm down and collect his thoughts. He might still be there honestly.”

“I see…”

“Listen kiddo, that test went way too far. Logan’s curiosity got the better of him and there was no need for you to have gone through something like that. If anything we should have taken it slow, so I’m sor-”

“No Pat it’s okay. I know that Roman wasn’t lying when he said he now sees me as family and not as a monster, but I also know that it’s hard to change so suddenly. It also wasn’t just Logan who was excited for the testing, I-I too wanted to test my limits and see if I actually could grow bigger than them. It felt really good too. I hate to admit it, but knowing that I could made me feel powerful. That I didn’t have to be afraid of them anymore, but at the same time I…”

Virgil bite his lip as he locked eyes with Patton. His eyes were wide and he had a complex expression on.

“I was afraid of myself. Pat, is it wrong that I felt like that? Is it wrong that I’m starting to like this power?”

Patton brought his free hand back up and pressed his pointer finger against Virgil’s face and gently moved it under his chin and back in a soothing motion.

“Oh course not kiddo. This power is a part of you and you are a good person. You want to be able to control this power in order to keep us safe, right?”

“Yeah I do, I honestly do. I want to protect you, Roman, and Logan. I want to protect my family more than anything!”

“Then you have your answer. There’s no need to be afraid of what you can do because no matter what we’ll be here to support you. Remember, you’re not alone anymore Virgil.”

“Thanks Patton. I feel a lot better now after talking with you about all this.”

Virgil looked around at the emptiness of the facility and back at Patton. “I guess we should get going before the others come looking for us.”

“Right, we need to find out what caused you to shrink and also some of the equipment that’s usually in here shouldn’t be left outside for too long.”

Patton slowly lifted himself off the ground while cupping Virgil securely in his hand. He then started towards the facility door and stepped outside. They made their way back inside the fortress to find the others.

To be continued.

Bonus: What really happened when Virgil realized he had shrunk


	8. Loving Embrace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the others figure out what next to do with their now small friend they comfort him the best way possible.

Patton with Virgil in hand have entered into the fort to find Roman and Logan. Surprisingly, it’s actually Roman who finds them first. As they first stepped inside they catch a glimpse of him zipping down one of the distant corridors, only to pivot back around and begin sprinting towards the two. Roman seemed to be out of breath and frantic for some reason. Patton began to worry something drastic had happened while he was talking with Virgil in the facility. Roman was now in front of him with both hands gripping Patton’s shoulders.

“Patton! Where have you been?”

“Roman, I’m sorry I had something to do for a little bit inside the facility. You look really worked up, is everything okay?”

“What? Oh, yeah everything’s fine I just kind of overdid it with the workout and then Logan asked me to go looking for you since you hadn’t returned. I’ve been running all over! I had no idea you’d still be inside the facility.” 

“Goodness Roman you had me worried there for a second. I’m sorry I didn’t report in for so long, but everything’s okie-dokie…or at least most of it. We do have a bit of a puzzle on our hands. More specifically in MY hands.”

Roman gave Patton a confused look until he turned his attention down towards the elevated hand that carried a shrunken Virgil inside. Virgil the whole time had been gripping Patton’s thumb as Roman’s shoulder grab had caused him to shift around. Roman quickly released his grip and jumped back in surprise.

“AH!”

“Roman! There’s no need to shout.”

Roman couldn’t help it! How else was he supposed to act when the last time he saw Virgil was as a 1000 feet tall giant? It was a huge surprise to now see him so tiny and sitting on Patton’s palm. He gingerly moved back over to get a closer look. 

“Virgil? Ho-how did this happen?”

Virgil tilted his head up to meet Roman’s gaze and gave him a weak smile. He still wasn’t sure how to act around Roman after hearing about how he acted during and after the experiment. He knew to trust in Patton’s words that Roman really cared for him, but it was still hard not to think back to those more painful moments. He hesitated before answering.

“I-I’m not sure actually. I don’t remember a lot of what happened afterwards.”

“You don’t remember? Then you have no idea how big you grew?”

“I didn’t at first so I asked Patton and he told me. I-It still sounds unbelievable to me but I know deep down it’s true.”

Roman didn’t know what to say, for once. If Virgil knew about how massive he had become then there was no way he wouldn’t have asked Patton about their reactions. Roman felt like he had failed to keep his word to Virgil, to see him as family and not as a monster. He could feel the guilty lodging itself in his throat. Virgil noticed this and felt a nudge from behind. Patton was rubbing his fingers against Virgil’s back to encourage him to speak up. 

“I heard that I might have rattled you back inside the facility. Instead of saying sorry I want to let you know that it’s okay to be scared of me sometimes.”

“You can’t mean that Virgil!”

“I do. After shrinking down like this I’ve come to understand that you can’t help it. Even though you know you’re not in any danger, you have this instinctive feeling of fear when in front of something that big. It subsides quickly though so I know that right now instead of being constantly afraid of me, that the guilt you’re feeling right now is what’s eating you up inside. I don’t like to see you like that Roman so please know that I forgive you and it’s okay to forgive yourself too.”

Roman’s face filled with relief at those words and he gave a loud sigh.

“Thank you Virgil. I really needed to hear that. I was going crazy from the guilt of how I felt after that testing session. I thought I was no good, that I was a bad person for being afraid of my friend. You’ve saved me from those dark thoughts.” 

Virgil smiled gently at Roman and Roman smiled back.

“Anyway we should start making our way to Logan’s study to have a talk with him about what might have happened.”

“Yeah, let’s get going.”

The three of them started moving down the halls towards Logan’s study. Roman first entered and announced their arrival with a single knock. Patton with Virgil followed second and it doesn’t take long for Logan to realize what has happened.

“Yet another unexpected development I see. This must be why you were gone for so long Patton. Can you explain what happened?”

“Sorry to say I can’t. I just found him like this on the floor of the facility and both Virgil and I have no explanation as to why.”

“How curious.”

Logan stepped in for a closer look. Virgil on the other hand was worried he might want to do another round of testing. He gulped his nerves down the best he could.

“Are you unable to grow back?”

“Yes. I think I’m still too worn out.”

“I see, then we’ll save any other tests for a future time. I personally have some ideas on what’s going on; However, even I can see that not only was the experience physically straining, but also caused quite a bit of mental exhaustion. It’s late so we should all get some rest, but first-”

Logan had walked back over to his desk and opened up his right-hand drawer to look for something. Virgil wasn’t sure what was going on, but was relieved to hear he wouldn’t be asked to participate in any further testing for awhile. Logan then came back with a sticker sheet in hand. The sheet was covered in stars of different colors in six orderly, vertical lines. 

“Patton, you did a wonderful job today in finding Virgil, calming him down, and returning him to base. To show you my appreciation for your hard work I’ll give you a star. What color would you like this time?”

“Usually I go with blue, but I want a purple one today please. It reminds me of Virgil!”

Virgil’s face turned to a bright red instantly from Patton’s remark. He pulled his hood up over his head to hide his embarrassment. Logan carefully peeled off one of the purple colored stars from the sheet and placed it on Patton’s cheek. Patton giggled a bit and smiled widely. 

"Thanks for the kiss Logan.”

Logan’s face blushed slightly as he covered up his face to hide his crooked smile. Virgil was completely lost as to what was going on.

“Patton, what do you mean by kiss? What are the stars for?”

“Oh I guess you wouldn’t know yet since you haven’t been here for very long. Logan doesn’t enjoy physical forms of affection like Roman and I do so to show his appreciation he gives out these stickers instead. Cute right?”

“It’s not meant to be cute Patton. I’ve already explained to you before it’s in order to boost morale and keep the status quo of our relationships.”

“Sure, sure. Whatever you say Logan.” Patton teased.

Virgil had never seen Logan so flustered and couldn’t help but let out a little chuckle. Logan glared at him with a look of caution and Virgil quickly ceased. Logan then felt eyes on him and turned his attention towards Roman who was shooting him pup dog eyes in anticipation. He sighed heavily.

“I can surmise from your expression that you too would also like a star Roman.” 

“Yes please!”

Logan: “Hmmm, I suppose that even though you ran ahead during the rescue operation and verbally harassed a comrade until they fled, you did show humility by apologizing and have thus made solid amends with them by talking it out.”

Logan paused in contemplation. Roman left waiting anxiously. “All right you can have a star for your efforts to correct your mistakes and grow from them. What color would you like?”

“Red please!”

Logan once again gently peeled off another star, this time a bright red one, and placed it on his cheek.

“Thanks for the kiss love!” 

“….sure. Now I’d like to give one to Virgil as well for participating in the testing, but since he’s so small I’ll refrain for now. I hope you understand.”

Virgil was somewhat disappointed he couldn’t receive a kiss from Logan like the others because of his current size, but he did understand.

“I understand.”

“Awe Virgil don’t look so down kiddo! Here, I’ll give you a kiss instead!!!”

“Wha-”

  
Before Virgil could even utter a word he was lifted up towards Patton’s face and felt a pair of soft lips press up against him. It was such a pleasant feeling that he lost himself in it as he let himself curl up against them. Resting his face against Patton’s thumb and lips made him feel so warm and safe. Roman then suddenly joined in by wrapping his arms around Patton’s shoulders. The motion caught Virgil off guard for a moment, but he fell back into his previous position quickly.

Roman: “No fair! Don’t leave me out!”

Roman then proceeded to kiss Patton on the head while keeping him in an embrace. The entire scene was full of love for one another and comfort. It was only broken from a slight cough coming from Logan who was the on-looker left out. All three turned their attention towards him.

“Not to cut this short, but as I stated before it has become rather late and I think it best for all of us to get some rest. It’s been a long day after-all.”

Indeed it had. First Virgil was lured out by Deceit’s note to meet him in the forest, then the others went out to look for him only for Roman to chase him off even more. Virgil’s secret had been revealed and it took a lot of convincing to get him to come back to base where he would be safe. Afterwards apologies were given, but a sudden test was brought up by Logan when everything had just been resolved. That test later ended with extremely unexpected results, but all of this made the family stronger and more connected in the end. It was finally time to rest and start over fresh in the morning. 

“I presume you would like to keep watch over Virgil tonight, correct Patton?”

“Yes I would. He can sleep with me in my bed for the night.”

“You want to share a bed?!”

“Sorry if it’s uncomfortable kiddo, but you need to stick with one of us when you’re stuck at that size.”

Virgil understood why, but he was still nervous to share a bed. He’d never once slept with someone else before. How was he supposed to act?

“No need to look so worried. I promise that I won’t roll over on you or anything. Just think of it like a slumber party.”

Patton hadn’t fully understood Virgil’s woes and gave him a reassuring smile. Virgil wasn’t worried about being squashed by Patton, but he had never had a sleepover before so he was still perplexed. Would he even be able to calm down enough to sleep?

“Then I leave him to you, goodnight.”

“Sweet dreams!” Roman said with a wave.

“Night, night!”

Logan returned to his desk for a moment to organize a few things and Roman was the first to leave the study. Patton left right after and started towards his room. He took out his room key from a necklace he tucked underneath his clothes and walked inside. The lights turned on automatically and a soft, female voice said ‘Welcome Patton.’

“Hello room!”

The interior was covered in warm, pastel colors. Mainly shades of blue, pink, and pale yellows. The walls were decorated with photos of the three hanging out, of cute animals, and a few motivational posters. There were quite a few of Logan’s star stickers too scattered around the room stuck to all sorts of objects. Patton had set Virgil down on the pillow of the bed as he went inside his closet to change.

“Virgil, I’ll change in here and you can change out there. Unless you like to sleep in your hoodie then I guess you can just wait for me.”

Virgil usually didn’t sleep in his hoodie so he took it off and set it next to himself. Shortly after, Patton came out of the closet and walked around to the other side of the bed and climbed in. He then laid down facing Virgil and patted his hand on the pillow to motion for Virgil to lie down as well. Virgil did so and Patton proceeded to hand him a small cloth to use as a blanket. 

“Here you go kiddo, don’t want you getting cold. Also, hand me your jacket and I’ll put it on the nightstand for you.”

Virgil did as he was instructed and snuggled himself into the tiny blanket. He smiled at Patton to let him know he was comfortable and Patton smiled back in response.

“Goodnight Virgil.”

“Night Patton.”

“Goodnight room.”

With that the female voice responded ‘Goodnight Patton’ and the lights turned off, followed by a spinning night-light engaging to cast a pattern of stars on the ceiling. That’s so like Patton, Virgil thought to himself as he drifted off to sleep. He began to dream about the feelings he had felt when being held and kissed by Patton and he could feel his fatigue fading away and his body growing. 

To be continued.


	9. Sweet Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now safe back inside the fort and resting with Patton in bed, Virgil begins rising up from the sheets slowly returning to normal size. However, not missing the chance to snuggle with his favorite little guy he grows a few more feet then expected in order to give Patton a super bear hug!

Virgil had now grown large enough to slide himself into the covers next to Patton in the bed. He was still pretty small, maybe the size of a child he thought, but he could still get closer to Patton without worry. As he curled up next to him, Virgil extended his arm to try and give a hug, but didn’t quite reach to his dismay. Instead he thought back to when he was in Patton’s hand and the soft, warm feeling he felt from Patton’s lips pressing up against him. He wanted Patton to feel the same, but at his current size that wasn’t possible. 

He would have to get bigger, still he hesitated. If he grew too fast he’d wake Patton up and if he couldn’t stop for any reason it would become dangerous. Although, his heart wasn’t calming down at the thought of completely embracing Patton entirely. Virgil shifted upwards a bit in the bed and laid a small kiss on Patton’s forehead to reassure himself. When he was with Patton he felt so safe. He wanted to protect Patton, Logan, and Roman always. He loved them all dearly as his family. With those feelings flooding his thoughts Virgil began to grow. At first it started slow, but quickly accelerated from his excitement. 

He simply couldn’t help himself. He loved the feeling of towering over Patton and holding him close as his arms and hands touched every ounce of his form in a warm embrace. When Virgil was like this he felt like he could keep Patton safe from anything. It gave him a sense of power and confidence in himself. Although, the sudden growth and creaking of the bed had woken Patton up. It didn’t take long for him to notice that Virgil had grown back to a normal size and far beyond as well.

“Hey kiddo, looks like you’ve grown since I last saw you.”

Virgil was surprised, but remained still as the bed continued to creak under his weight. Virgil was a little embarrassed to be found by Patton in such a position, but relieved by his joking behavior. 

“Sorry I woke you up Pat. I tried my best not too, but I guess I grew a little too fast.”

“It’s alright!”

Patton scooched closer to Virgil and stretched his arms out to give him a hug back. Patton’s figure was now completely covered by Virgil’s form. Virgil’s face flushed red in response and he slowly brought his hands closer to Patton’s back to hold him even closer. Patton could hear Virgil’s heartbeat pounding throughout his entire being as he was pressed up against Virgil’s chest. It was a comforting sound he could lose himself in. 

“I guess you growing so big was your idea then?”

“Well I did grow back while I was asleep, but once I woke up I did want to keep growing.”

“Do you like being big?”

Unlike last time when he felt bad about admitting he enjoyed growing and being big, Virgil didn’t hesitate to answer. Instead he held Patton even closer and curled his body around him.

“I do. It makes me feel like I can protect you and everyone from any danger. I felt really safe when I was being carried in your hands earlier and I want you to feel the same when you're with me.”

Patton was overcome with joy at Virgil’s words. He was thrilled to see that Virgil no longer saw himself as a monster, but as a guardian. Patton worked his way closer to Virgil’s face as he pressed his own face against it. He then began nuzzling Virgil’s face in a comforting manner. Virgil noticed and titled his head down a bit in order to nuzzle back softly. However, Patton still worried if Virgil could remain big all the time. He definitely wanted him to feel comfortable, but the thought of a mini giant roaming around the realm or even inside the fort was just unrealistic. Perhaps a compromise could be met.

“I’m really happy to see you being so comfortable with yourself now, but I can’t help thinking that this size might be a bit too much for daily life. It’s already too much for the bed you’ve outgrown.”

“I guess you’re right. My legs are technically on the floor and my back is nowhere near the bed anymore. Still...”

“Listen kiddo, I want you to be comfortable and I also like our big bear hug times like this one. So how about we make a deal where you only get this big or bigger when you're with me and for most of the time you can stay tall, but not big...deal?”

“Deal.”

“Awesome! Now then, think you could shrink back down to that new size of yours before the bed finally kaputz?”

“Sure.”

Virgil closed his eyes and imagined the size he was going for. He wanted to remain tall, tall enough to still pick up Patton from time-to-time and big enough to still give him lots of hugs that completely covered his frame. Virgil rested on 6’10 and opened his eyes to a now astonished looking Patton.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of seeing you do that! Anyway you still seem pretty tall, what size did you set on?”

“I went with 6’10.”

“Wow! That’s more than a foot taller than me!”

“Really? How tall are you? I noticed the three of you are pretty much the same height or close to it.”

“I’m 5’9 actually. So I’m shorter than Roman who’s 5’10, but taller than Logan who’s 5’8.”

Patton yawned as he listed off the trios height. Virgil saw that Patton was still tired from the long night.

“I had no idea Logan was the shortest.”

“Uh-huh, he says all his growing energy went to his brain instead.”

Virgil gave a light chuckle at that remark as he began working his arms back around Patton. Patton had begun fading in and out of consciousness.

“We should get back to sleep Pat.”

Patton was too tired to answer so he just closed his eyes with a slight nod and laid his head up against Virgil’s chest. Allowing himself to fall asleep to that all familiar heartbeat. Virgil pressed his face into Patton’s hair and whispered him a sweet good night as he too closed his eyes.

To be continued.


	10. Small Steps Forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For this one we have Virgil and Roman being observed by Logan in a more open environment. It’s not a test per se, but more of a trust/bonding exercise for the both of them. Even though Logan is the one conducting it, it was actually Patton who came up with the idea after seeing how awkward the two of them still were. Patton is not in attendance as he had errands to run in the town. 
> 
> This is a kind of in-between story based on a Tumblr prompt I got.

Both Virgil and Roman are dressed in training garb for this exercise. Logan has instructed them to get as close to one another as they are willing. Luckily, they actually do get close enough to hug, though the attempt failed miserably. Virgil was now standing at 6’10 and Roman was still getting used to that change, thus he was uneasy to say the least. Virgil on the other hand wanted this to work so he spread out his arms to show his willingness to try again and Roman obliged. Roman places his hands on Virgil’s hips and while Virgil placed his on Roman’s waist. All in all it was a stable hug more than an affectionate one.

Virgil could still feel Roman’s hesitance, therefore he decided to take quick action and kiss him on the forehead. He placed his other hand smoothly onto Roman’s neck and nudged him closer. Roman showed no resistance, on the contrary he was soothed by the show of affection. Virgil was glad he was successful at calming Roman’s nerves and lightly whispered to him that he was going to start growing soon. That was the whole point of the exercise after-all. Roman needed to get used to seeing and feeling Virgil grow in order for them to work and live comfortably with one another. 

However, Roman was lost in that sweet embrace and had closed his eyes until he felt the body that encompassed him begin to stretch. Fabric and skin lightly brushed past him as he slowly opened up his eyes to witness Virgil growing. Yet, this time Roman wasn’t scared. He felt safe, if not a little stuffy. Virgil’s body heat caused his face to redden and his eyes widened when Virgil finally spoke.

“That wasn’t so bad now was it?”

Virgil’s enlarged hand was now resting on top of Roman’s head, stroking it gently. Roman greatly enjoyed the motion and gave Virgil a smile of appreciation in response. Virgil was happy to see Roman not fussing around when being held by him. He saw no fear in Roman’s eyes as he gazed down at him. Still, he wanted to see if Roman would continue to feel the same if he got just a little bigger.

“Glad to see you so comfortable with me Roman. Now I’m going to keep going just a bit more so try not to freak out, okay?”

“Okay, I’m ready.”

Roman gulped loudly as he prepared himself to follow through with the rest of this exercise. He wanted to be closer with Virgil and was willing to do anything to strengthen their bond. Suddenly, he noticed Virgil’s chest expanding closer towards him. It appeared that Virgil had reached a limit where he needed to get down on his knees in order to keep a hold of Roman. Roman twitched at the sight of Virgil’s chest now completely pressed up against him, but forced himself to stay put. 

Next a set of five large fingers began caressing his back as Virgil’s frame widened even further and Roman was starting to get sucked in. Roman placed his hands on the side of Virgil’s torso as his anxiety melted away. He thought, how could he have ever been afraid of such a warm person? One last growth spurt passed and Virgil had tilted his head down in order to plant yet another kiss on Roman. Roman was overjoyed and laid his head right into Virgil’s chest and began snuggling him with enthusiasm. Virgil giggled repeatedly as Roman’s hair tickled his neck and face.

“Looks like you had fun, I’m glad.”

“I did! I believe I rather like this kind of thing.”

“I’m so happy to hear that, but I think we’ll stop here for now.”

“What!? I-I can take more though.”

Roman was visibly disappointed that he wasn’t going to experience Virgil’s growing embrace any further. He couldn’t help imagine what it might feel like. Virgil noticed Roman’s sad expression.

“Roman, it’s not like we won’t be able to do things like this ever again. Next time I’ll grow even more, I promise.”

“Excellent!”

With that the exercise ended with complete success! Patton returned shortly after with a special plan in mind.

To be continued.


	11. Growing Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A cute moment during Virgil’s current time with the Sides at the fort. They’ve all been getting along wonderfully and both Patton and Roman love to see Virgil grow so they bug him about it all the time, today is no exception. 
> 
> This is also what happens when two boyfriends want to watch their third, size-shifting boyfriend grow only to fall in love with him all over again and eventually embarrasses him to a point of massive growth leading to a literal downfall. 
> 
> Another short in-between chapter.

“Hey Virgil can you grow for us, pretty please?”

“But I did that for you guys last week.”

“You can’t count that you only went a foot taller!”

“Roman’s right! 7′10 barley looks any different from your usual 6′10. We want to see a bigger growth this time. You promised!”   
They looked very different, but a defeated Virgil simply shrugged.  
“Fine. I guess I did promise I’d grow from time to time to help Roman get used to it, but Patton it’s not like you need to see this.”

“Of course I do!”

“Why’s that?”

Patton’s eyes were gleaming with excitement! Virgil asked, but he kind of already knew the reason.  
“It’s super COOL!!!”

A typical Patton-like answer, he thought. Virgil sighed and accepted his fate as the two drew closer to him. Virgil found himself suddenly surrounded by Patton at his front and Roman in the back.

“You guys don’t need to be so close to me for this.”

“Don’t look so worried kiddo, I just want a good view.”

“I personally feel it’s better to be as close as possible in order to bare fruit in my goal of being comfortable around you at any size. Thus, I shall remain here!”

“Suit yourselves then. I’ll start off slow.”

Virgil then jumped a couple of inches, but Roman and Patton were already captivated by his new height. Virgil could easily see so on their faces, but calmed himself in order to concentrate. 

He continued while breathing in and out until he felt a pair of soft lips press up against him. In shock, Virgil darted his gaze downwards to spot Patton cheerfully nuzzling and smooching Virgil’s stomach.

“Pa-Patton! What are you doing kissing me all of a sudden and down there of all places?!”

Patton didn’t respond and simply kept on delivering kiss after kiss to Virgil’s tummy. Virgil cheeks turned a bright red from embarrassment and all Roman did was laugh with amusement. Virgil was so flustered that he jumped an entire foot, only to discover that another pair of warm lips had made their way to his lower back.

“Not you too Roman!”

Same as Patton, Roman too didn’t respond and kept on kissing viciously. He could feel both their hands resting on his hips and the thoughts of them kissing any closer to other unnamed regions caused his entire face to light up like a Christmas tree. The amount of little kisses they were placing on him was super ticklish and his brain started to melt from the constant sensation. Virgil was losing his composure and as a result his growth accelerated. 

A violent surge of emotion coursed through his body causing it to spasm. The unnatural movement, accompanied by Virgil’s dramatically increasing frame pushing up against them, snapping Patton and Roman back to reality. Sadly, it was too late as the both of them found themselves falling over.

“OW!” the two idiots yelled out.

  
Startled by Patton and Roman’s cries of pain, Virgil regained his senses ans slowed his growth. He titled his head down to see both of them rubbing their sore bottoms and gave a small chuckle at karma working her magic.Still, he felt bad about hurting them and apologized.

“Sorry, looks like I got carried away. Still you two really got me riled up there with all the kissing!”

“Sorry Virgil, I just couldn’t help myself.”

“Same, I got jealous when I saw Patton having all the fun and decided to join in.”

Virgil, was taken aback by their affectionate words. Not that he wasn’t over the moon with joy at hearing them.   
“Next time, make sure to let me know beforehand okay?”

“NEXT TIME?!” the two shouted with glee in unison.

“Yes I said next time, now do you both understand?”

“YES!!!” both nodding in agreement.

To be continued.


	12. Nighttime Stroll

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a wonderful night at Virgil's welcoming party, Roman invites him out for a stroll to his favorite (super secret) stargazing spot to talk. They share many tender moments until an uninvited guest crashes in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: A Bit Steamy/ Insecurities/ Full of Cheese

Night had set in as Roman and Virgil exited the fort to go off on their stroll. Virgil was excited to be spending some personal time with Roman and at the same time nervous. Since their bonding exercise last week he had noticed a tremendous change in Roman’s demeanor when present. Roman’s eyes would sparkle at the sight of him and his voice would become boisterous. Virgil could tell Roman was always looking forward to seeing him and enjoyed his company. So many things had changed for the better, if not suddenly. At times it was difficult to process it all, but nonetheless he was happy.

“I’m glad you invited me out for a walk Roman.”

“Of course! Tonight is your night and I intend to make it one for the history books!”

Virgil smiled sheepishly as he slumped his blushing face away from Roman’s gaze. Noticeably that they had been walking for quite some time now and grew Virgil curious about where they were headed.

“Where are we going Roman that’s so far out?”

“We’re headed to a secret spot of mine. You’re going to love it!”

A big smile formed on Roman’s face as he led Virgil by the hand to a special spot where he loved to stargaze. As they pushed past the foliage, Virgil’s view opened up to reveal a wide open valley covered in moonlight. Virgil was in awe at the stunning view of the star filled sky above him. Roman had gone ahead until he reached the center of the field; there he motioned for Virgil to come join him. The cool night air brushing past Virgil’s face was refreshing as he walked up towards Roman.

“This place is beautiful Roman.” his eyes were still transfixed on the sky in wonder.

“Beautiful indeed.”

Roman wasn’t looking up at the sky as he spoke, but instead at Virgil. Slowly he slid his hand over and interlocked his fingers now between Virgil’s. Surprised, Virgil immediately turned his attention towards Roman as his face glowed bright red.

“You don’t like it?”

“No, I-I…it was unexpected is all.” Virgil shook his head violently.

He felt silly for overacting about holding hands and tightened his grip. Roman smiled and brushed his shoulder up again Virgil’s arm. The two inched closer to one another as they stood silently gazing up at the stars. It felt as if time had stopped as both of them found themselves lost in thought about the other.

“Virgil, would it be alright for you to hold me?”

“Do you mean like a hug?”

Unsure of what Roman meant Virgil shot him a confused look. Roman giggled and lifted up his hand while still attached to Virgil’s. Carefully he uncurled his fingers to expose his palm and used one of Virgil’s fingers as a pointer.

“Here, I want you to hold me here in your hand.” Roman pointed to the center of his palm. Virgil instantly knew what he was referring to now, but was understandably concerned.

“Oh…are you sure? I know we’ve been having fun with my smaller growth spurts, but this-this is a big leap in size. Are you going to be o-”

“I’ll be alright. I trust you completely, also I’ve even started dreaming about this moment.” Did Virgil hear that right?

“Yo-you’ve been dreaming about me?!”

"You don’t need to be so surprised about it! I-It’s embarrassing enough to say out loud.”

Roman retracted his hands and cupped them together against his chest. He was trying desperately to quiet his heartbeat. Honestly, it was never his plan to reveal such a fact to anyone, more so the person in question. All Roman could do was hope Virgil would make his dream come true.

“So what do you say?” His eyes twinkled in anticipation for a favorable answer.

“Sure.” he responded softly.

Roman was elated with Virgil’s response as he began bouncing up and down with joy. Then, without warning, Virgil touched his right hand gently to Roman’s face and stroked it. His hand was cold from the brisk night air and the sudden touch caused Roman’s face to redden. As Roman lifted his hands up to caress Virgil back he failed to notice that the hand had already outgrown his entire head and was continuing to expand. Virgil grew taller at a casual pace and as he began towering over Roman, he kept smiling towards him as reassurance. Once he reached a certain point, Virgil bent down to his knees and stretched out his hand towards Roman.

“Only a little more to go. Once I get big enough you can climb right on.”

In front of Roman now was a giant hand that was big enough to hold him like a doll. Still, he wanted it to be bigger, he wanted to be completely encompassed by that hand. It appeared that Virgil also wanted this as he continued to grow. His form was now covering up Roman’s view of the Moon. Roman chuckled at the thought of Virgil being the Moon and himself the North Star.

“I think this height will do. By the way, what were you laughing about earlier?”

  
Virgil had stopped growing as Roman quickly climbed aboard. The hand was now the perfect size for Roman to sit upon and still have space to roam about. Gingerly, Virgil shifted his position upwards and started to rise onto his feet. He now stood at a staggering 130 feet tall with a tiny Roman resting in his palm.

“I thought you resembled the moon.” he whispered.

“The moon? Is it because of my size?”

“There’s that, but you’ve always had an air of mystery about you. You’re also not half bad looking.”

“Roman, we have the same face…”

“See! Then if I’m handsome you must be as well.”

“You really are a character sometimes, you know that?”

“Of course! I am a man of the theater after all!”

Virgil couldn’t stop himself from laughing and Roman did the same. Both found themselves completely amused by the other as the night went on. Virgil carefully moved Roman to his shoulder and the two continued to gaze up at the starry sky. As Roman snuggled up against Virgil’s neck he pointed out the constellations. Virgil would in turn playfully draw his own constellations with his arm outstretched. Roman loved Virgil’s creativity and began pointing out his own constellations and formed stories about them. Their exchange of laughter and smiles between each other could only be described as magical.

“Hey Virgil, I know this will sound crazy but I want you to hear me out first.”

“What is it?”

“I want you to grow even bigger.” Roman pressed his head up against Virgil’s neck affectionately.

“Bigger?! You want me to grow even taller than this? You’re right, that does sound crazy.” he was bewildered by Roman’s request.

“You don’t want to?”

“No, it’s not that I don’t want to…why do you want me to grow more anyway?”

“I want to be your North Star.”

“My North Star? What does that even mean?” his voice cracked.

“You see that star up there near the Moon? The one that’s shining the brightest is called the North Star. I want to feel like that tiny star next to the giant Moon is all.”

“You don’t feel like that right now?”

“No, it’s not about how I feel right now. Sometimes, despite how I act, even I have my insecurities. Once in a while I feel like one of those regular stars, one out of many. That no matter how hard I try to stand out I’ll always be lost in someone else’s glow.”

Virgil had gone silent. He never imagined Roman of all people could feel anxious about such things; he pretty much exuded confidence. Virgil could relate heavily to those kinds of feelings and wanted Roman to feel like the bright, beaming star he truly was.

“Then let’s do it. Let’s make you a star!”

“You mean it?”

“As long as you’re okay with it, then I’m okay with it.”

Virgil lifted up his hand to his shoulder and placed it horizontally against his collarbone in order to keep his palm flat. Roman was overcome with excitement as he climbed back onto Virgil’s hand once again.

“I’m going to start growing again and this time I’m going to get really big, are you ready?”

“Ready!”

Right after Roman responded enthusiastically Virgil began to stretch upwards rapidly. Standing tall, Virgil grew almost exponentially as he whizzed by 200, 300, 400 feet and onward. Roman was so small that Virgil’s fingers that once matched the height of a person, now resembled towers. Last time Virgil had grown to this height was back in the facility when he lost control, but this time was different. He had been practicing constantly in order to never again put his friends in danger. There was no pain, dizziness, or sudden pulses; he was in complete control. All Roman could do was look on in astonishment as Virgil finally rested at an enormous height of 700 feet tall. Unsure about talking, Virgil meekly smiled at an almost microscopically small Roman staring up at him with wide eyes.

Cautiously, Virgil began moving his arm upwards towards the night sky. The sudden movement caused Roman to lose his footing a bit as he fell to his knees. Virgil noticed this, but believed that stopping his current movement abruptly wouldn’t be a wise idea and carried on until his arm was fully straightened. Roman was lost as to what Virgil was trying to do until he saw how close he was to the night sky. He gasped in surprise and turned back to look at Virgil. Virgil smiled gently, squinting his eyes, and gave a nod. With that Roman sprung to his feet and started racing up Virgil’s pointer finger. Now at the tip-top Roman energetically shouted,

  
“How do I look? Am I the North Star now?”

“You look even brighter.” he answered quietly.

Roman blushed deeply and a huge smile covered his face. He truly was bright as the moonlight washed over him, highlighting his outline sharply. Roman couldn’t help thinking that this was the best moment in his entire life and it was all thanks to Virgil. He bowed gracefully towards the now massive giant he stood upon.

Roman: “Thank you Virgil.”

No one could imagine how much those words meant to Virgil. He had been thanked for being the way he is. After all those moments of being belittled, viciously insulted, and treated less than human, someone finally loved the way he was. He had to hold back his tears in order not to flood the valley down below, but his heart was pounding loudly. Roman could feel each beat underneath his feet as he straightened up. The cool night air was getting to him, especially at that height.

“It’s pretty chilly up here, huh?”

Virgil couldn’t relate as at his current size he couldn’t even feel the wind, let alone get cold. He was also enjoying his new size and wasn’t ready to shrink back down. Still, he couldn’t let Roman freeze so he instead offered an alternative.

“I’ll warm you up then.”

“What do you mean?”

“First walk down back to my palm.”

Roman did as he was told and hastily walked back down Virgil’s finger to his palm. Once back down Virgil slowly lowered his arm and raised his hand close to his face. Following that motion he made a fist with the thumb sticking out with his free hand and moved it over to the hand Roman was on.

“Here, I want you to climb up on my thumb.”

“Okay, but what are you going to do?”

After a bit of trouble Roman had successfully climbed up onto Virgil’s thumb and kept himself steady by grabbing on to the nail.

“Alright, up we go!”

“Wha-”

  
Suddenly, the thumb turned upwards and began moving towards Virgil’s mouth. Roman froze, was this what he thought it was? Next thing Roman knew he was being softly pushed into Virgil’s upper lip as his frame was pinched between Virgil’s thumb and pointer finger. Roman’s mind went blank as he let himself completely melt into the world’s biggest kiss. He had never experienced anything like it as the sensation of Virgil’s warm lip spread throughout his being. Although, it was a bit too warm. 

Quickly, Roman’s breathing became shallow as he huffed deeply. Even though it felt like he might suffocate, he didn’t hate it as his entire body boiled. He began to sweat profusely and his face had turned a bright scarlet as he reached his hand out from underneath Virgil’s lip and began slapping it in urgency. He had reached his limit and was on the verge of passing out.

“Vir-gil. I-I can’t take i-it any mo-ore.” His voice was weak from overheating.

Despite his size, Virgil felt Roman slapping his hand on his lip and could hear him mumbling something. As he jerked his head back Roman gave out a loud gasp and collapsed backwards onto Virgil’s thumb. Virgil titled his thumb slightly in order to get a better view of Roman who was panting aggressively. At a glance he could tell he may have gone too far with his kiss, but nonetheless Roman wasn’t cold anymore.

“Sorry Roman, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I-I’m fine. Ju-just a little out of breath.” His breathing had become extremely shallow.

“Hey, I’m going to start shrinking back down. I don’t think it’s safe for you to be out of breath so high up.”

“You ha-ve a-a point.”

“Can you climb back down to my palm on your own, or do you need some help?”

“I-I can do it.”

Roman then began sluggishly dragging his feet down Virgil’s thumb and onto his palm. There he went down on his knees and further laid on his stomach with his arms tucked underneath his head.

“I’m just going to lie down for a little bit.” he whispered as his eyes closed.

The tiny frame lying still on his palm was beyond adorable. Virgil couldn’t help but ruffle Roman’s hair amusingly with his massive finger before he swiftly started shifting downwards. He stopped at 12 feet tall and gently carried Roman closer to the treeline. There he sat down criss-cross with Roman resting in his arms, sleeping soundly. It had gotten late and while he wanted to get back to the fort, Virgil also didn’t want to wake Roman. As he continued to figure out what to do next he was startled by the sudden sound of trees toppling over and being crushed underneath an unknown pressure. Out of the darkness came a terrifyingly familiar voice.

“Found you!~”

To be continued.

Bonus: During the welcoming party, Virgil was gifted two star sticker kisses from Logan. One a light blue for Patton and the other a bright red for Roman. Patton also made him a hand painted shirt with his name written on with a heart. He was so overcome with emotion his head shot through the roof. Logan's bots were busy rest of the night repairing the hole as the four sides partied! 


	13. Calming Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something has happened to Virgil and Roman. Virgil is awoken by a worried Logan with Roman no where to be seen. What in the world occurred?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Moments described in this narrative depict actual symptoms and treatment of anxiety/panic attacks. You have been warned!

“Virgil! Virgil! I need you to wake up and tell me what happened. Where’s Roman?”

Slowly Virgil turned his face upwards as his eyes struggled to focus on a concerned Logan. He was still at an enlarged size, but for some reason he was lying flat on the ground. He tried to think back to why, but all that came to mind was a blackened haze and the faint sound of screaming. Virgil’s ears ringed as he began rising to better look at Logan.

“Virgil, are you alright? You seem disoriented and may be suffering from a possible concussion. Can you tell me anything as to why you’re currently in this state?”

“I-I’m not sure. My head’s all fu-fuzzy.”

Once Virgil was back up and resting on his knees he took a moment to collect himself. Whatever had just happened knocked the wind out of him and he was sore all over.

“Listen, I don’t mean to rush you but I need to know where Roman is.”

“What do you mean? Roman’s right….here?”

Virgil went completely white as he frantically looked around him for Roman. He tried to call out, but his throat tightened. In a flash the memories were flooding back in intense waves. Suddenly, his heart started pounding and he collapsed forward in pain. Feelings of nausea overwhelmed him as he began to shake vigorously. Virgil was experiencing an anxiety attack as his body began to remember the pressure of Remus’s boot suffocating him underneath it. His mind was filled with the screams of Roman pleading for Virgil to help him. Then only darkness remained as he had lost consciousness.

“Virgil I need you to look at me.”

“I can’t, I-”

“Yes you can, now look at me. Focus on my voice and turn towards me.”

“I-I’ll try.”

Meekly, Virgil looked up at Logan. He had his arms outstretched and was walking towards him. As he rested his hands on Virgil’s face he smiled and spoke again.

“Good, now I need you to keep looking only at me and breath deeply. In and out, in and out, keep it up.”

Virgil did as he was told. He could feel the tightness around his chest begin to fade, but he continued to shake. His eyes filled with tears as he kept thinking back to the moment Roman was snatched from his arms and how he was unable to save Roman. He closed his eyes in frustration.

“Virgil! Don’t stop now. Remember you’re safe, you have nothing to fear here. I’m here for you know.”

“I-I couldn’t save him Logan. It was all so su-sudden and even though I had the ability to do something...I couldn’t muster any strength. Be-because of me Ro-Ro-Roman’s gone!”

“This is not your fault, none of this is your fault. You are currently experiencing an anxiety attack so your mind and body is responding to past fear and trauma. What you need to do now is look at me and continue breathing deeply in order to calm yourself down.”

“I-I lost him Logan! Don’t you understand that, it was because of me that Remus found us and took him. How can I calm down when who knows what he might be doing to him right now?”

“We will rescue him, all of us together, I promise.”

“What can I even do to help when I’m like this?”

“You can get bigger.”

“What?”

Virgil snapped his eyes open again at Logan’s shocking remark. Did he just tell Virgil to get bigger in his current state? Was that supposed to be some kind of joke...no Logan didn’t really tell jokes, especially in serious situations like this. Does that mean he was being serious?

Virgil: “You can’t b-be serious! Right now I can barely control my emotions, let alone my size.”

“That’s exactly why I suggested you get bigger. Your growth is tied to your emotions and if you were to get bigger it would be equivalent to letting off steam. That’s why it feels so good for you to grow, it’s similar to relaxation techniques.”

“Are you serious?”

“Always.”

Still doubtful Virgil, decided to trust in Logan’s words and closed his eyes in order to concentrate. He breathed in and then out as he started to expand cautiously. As he kept on he really did feel all his anxieties soften as his heart rate slowed and the nausea disappeared. Gradually, Virgil lifted his torso back up and un-clenched his chest as the pain had subsided. He opened his eyes and lowered his gaze down towards a now much smaller looking Logan.

“How do you feel now?”

“I feel a lot better, thank you.”

“You’re quite welcome, however I suggest you grow a bit more.”

“I’m like 25 feet tall, why do I need to get bigger?”

“Now that you’ve calmed down we need to begin our rescue operation of Roman. At this moment Remus is still within this side of the realm, but Patton is still at the fort.”

“Patton didn’t come with you?”

“That is correct. He turned in early for the night after he tired himself out at the welcome party.”

“So then you decided to come out here on your own? Why not try to wake up Patton first and come together?”

“I had no inclination to assume that something of this magnitude had occurred and I felt it best not to interrupt Patton’s sleep cycle if there was no present urgency. As it was getting late, I began scanning the area for your footprints and eventually came across you collapsed on the ground and Roman nowhere to be found.”

“Yeah, Remus appeared all of a sudden from behind the trees and ambushed us. He grabbed Roman right out of my arms as he was sleeping and pinned me to the ground by smashing his boot on top of me before I could react. I think because of how sudden it was I wasn’t able to stay awake and passed out soon after.”

“I hope you understand that with such an attack there was nothing you could do.”

“I understand, it….still sucks though. If I hadn’t grown so much, he may have never spotted us.”

“Is that really how he found you?”

“What do you mean? How else would he have found us?”

“I can’t be sure yet, but can you remember anything he may have said to you before passing out?”

“I’m not sure…”

Virgil closed his eyes and thought for a moment. It all happened so fast and all he could focus on was Roman’s screams, but in the background he could faintly hear Remus laughing. As Virgil focused on that, Remus’s face surfaced from the darkness and he could see his mouth forming words. What was he saying? Virgil blocked out anything else besides Remus and zoomed in on his mouth. Instantly, Virgil flung his eyes open and shouted,

“HE CALLED ME SMALL!”

“Excuse me?”

“I remembered! Remus was laughing and said it was funny how I had gotten smaller since the last time he saw me. Doesn’t that mean he didn’t see me when I was in the valley?”

“It would appear so.”

“Th-then how did he find us?”

“It was both of your deodorant.”

“You’re kidding right?”

“I wish I was, but no. Remus has always enjoyed the smell and...taste of deodorant and is able to locate people based on the kind they use.”

“That’s so messed up.”

“Indeed. Nonetheless, now you know that this incident wasn’t your fault in the slightest.”

“You’re right. I feel a lot better now. Thank you again.”

“Glad to hear it, now I still need you to grow bigger so we can make it back to the fort hastily and pick up Patton.”

“You got it!”

With that Virgil jumped from 25 feet to 50 feet in a matter of seconds and reached down to scoop up Logan as he got to his feet. Virgil placed Logan on his shoulder gingerly and wiped away his remaining tears.

  
“You ready.”

“Let’s go!”

With that Virgil and Logan marched back to the fort to retrieve Patton and tell him what had happened. As they regrouped they set their sights on the caves Remus was known to hideout in and prayed Roman was still okay. However, he was far from it.

To be continued.


	14. Damsel in Distress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus now has Roman in his grasp and is thrilled to be playing with his "little" brother again. What does this rat man have in-store for the princess, find out now!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Past Trauma/ Crying/ Mention of Eating People/ People being Treated like Toys/ Swearing/ Pain/ Sexual Innuendos/ Kidnapping

**In the valley:**

“VIRGIL! VIRGIL PLEASE WAKE UP!!! VIRGIL!”

“Hush now, your prince has fallen into a deep slumber thanks to my sleeping spell.”

REMUS! What sleeping spell, you stomped on him until he passed out!?”

“It’s an original, I call it _Stompus Knockoutus_!”

“Ugh, whatever! Just let me down this instant you dirty marauder!”

“Wooooh! Marauder, I like that. Thanks for the darling nickname Princey!”

“Aaaahhhh! What are you even going to do with me?”

“I’m taking you back to my little hole in the wall so we can play together like old times.”

“Li-like old times?”

Roman shuddered at the memories of when his brother and he would play ‘games’ before the destabilization occurred. Once Roman and Remus had split from the same trait they stuck together still as brothers who had no idea how to be separate people. Those days started out pleasant with their creative minds expanding everyday. Roman imagined far off lands, magnificent castles, heroic adventures, and more. Remus, on the other hand, imagined tentacle arms, vomiting spiders, eyeball spaghetti, and more disturbing imagery.

It quickly became obvious to the others that Remus was beginning to unravel once Roman started distancing himself from him. It’s all he could do as Remus’s thoughts were too extreme for Roman to take in as their imaginations interfered with one another. In response, Remus became a recluse and locked himself away to drown in his own madness. Roman tried desperately to talk with Remus, to find some kind of solution so they could stay together, but to no avail. Then one night a large crashing sound shook the fort awake. Roman dashed to his brother’s room in a panic and swung open the door, only to find a now 150 foot tall giant grinning menacingly at him.

“I’ve found a solution to our problem brother! If I simply take you away from here then we’ll never be separated again.”

Roman was petrified with fear and had no strength left to flee as Remus’s giant hand snatched him higher and higher into the air. There was no tenderness in his touch as Roman’s bones cracked and he yelped in pain.

“Singing cheers of our reunion all ready? Glad to hear them, keep it going!”

Remus squeezed even tighter as he violently pumped his fist in the air, with Roman in hand. Roman screamed loudly in pain and tears began to well up in his eyes.

“Tears of joy as well?! Oh brother, you really do know what I like!”

Now fully enjoying his new stature Remus cheerily skipped away from the fort, into the forest and up the mountain to a cave that could fit him. For the next month Roman endured a variety of Remus’s ‘games’ and was treated like a plaything. He would be punished if he misbehaved and he was kept in a drawer with only a small hole where the knob should be for air. Eventually, Patton and Logan were able to find him when Remus was away and promptly rescued him. However, the experience left him traumatized.

That’s why it had been so hard for him to adjust to Virgil being one of them. Luckily, with time, he realized that wasn’t true and that Virgil was special. He was special to him. Roman could feel his consciousness fading as he was still exhausted and slowly passed out as Remus carried him off into the mountains. He was simply too tired to fight back or stay awake. Roman could only hope his friends would be able to find him soon. 

\---------------------------

**Back at the fort:**

“ROMAN’S BEEN KIDNAPPED!?”

“I’m so sorry Pat. Remus snuck up on me while Roman was sleeping and I-I couldn’t do anything. I was too scared.”

“Oh Virgil, there’s no need to beat yourself up over it. We’re together now, so let's go get our boy back!”

“My thoughts exactly Patton, but we need a plan. Virgil, do you have any idea where Remus might have taken Roman? Last time he hid out in a cave up in the mountains, but that ridge is vast so it will take too much time to scan all of it.”

“I think he’d still be hiding the same way honestly. I remember him bringing me to this one cave he had all decked out with all sorts of weird clothes and tiny buildings.”

“Promising, do you recall where that cave was?”

“Yeah I do since it was just a couple of months ago.”

“Why did he take you there anyway?” Patton asked curiously.

Virgil bit down on his lower lip as he decided whether or not to answer Patton.

“Ugh, he wanted me to play with him...but he said we had to go out and find some toys first.”

“Toys!? Yo-you don’t mean...people?”

Patton was mortified at just the idea of people being played around like dolls. Virgil freaked out and responded quickly,

“Woah hey! I never agreed to it. I never liked playing with that guy so I just shrugged him off and found a corner to read in instead. You don’t think I’d actually go out people-snatching with that loon do you Pat?”

Patton’s eyes softened. “Oh course not kiddo, but the idea was really scary to think about is all. I know you don’t see us like that.”

Virgil sighed in relief and smiled. Logan coughed a bit to suggest they get a move on quickly in order to rescue Roman.

Gently, Virgil laid his hand on the ground and motioned for Patton to climb on up. Patton hopped right on enthusiastically as he was lifted up to Virgil’s shoulder. Logan reached out his arms to help Patton climb on and they held hands to keep each other steady as Virgil stood back up.

“One more thing before we disembark on our mission, Virgil, I suggest you increase in size substantially in order to better traverse the mountain terrain.”

“I agree with Logan. If you get bigger it will help finding Roman easier.”

“Okay, you both hold onto my shirt collar then. I don’t want either of you falling off.”

“Got it!” Both said in unison.

\- With that Virgil shifted dramatically to a whopping 500 feet tall instantly. As they were being flung up rapidly, Patton and Logan hugged onto Virgil’s shirt for dear life until the shaking stopped. Both of them peeled their eyes open again to find their new view spectacular! They could see everything from the town, lake, valley, forest, and mountains. Neither of them had ever been so high up before. The entire experience was completely indescribable as they both stared in awe.

Virgil: “You both okay?” he whispered.

Virgil’s sudden question snapped Patton and Logan out of their starry eyed daze and back to reality. They both hastily answered,

“Yes, we’re fine!”

“Alright, I’m going to start moving then. Prepare yourselves.”

Instinctively, Logan and Patton both gripped onto Virgil’s shirt collar tightly and braised themselves. This was going to be a long trip as each step Virgil took, no matter how delicately, jostled the two of them around like wet noodles. 

\-----------------------------

**Now in the caves:**

“Wakey, wakey sleeping beauty. Your tower awaits.”

Roman was in a daze when he awoke to find himself lying on what appeared to be a play mat with the design of cobblestone printed on. Immediately, he remembered where he was and with whom. It took even less time for him to realize he was no longer wearing the clothes he previously had on as well. He was now donning a poofy pink dress, white silk gloves, and a puffed up blonde wig with a tiara attached. His face had been painted on with a fake beauty mark near his eye and plump red lips. Overall, he looked ghastly!

“Oh my gosh, did you undress me in my sleep?!”

“What’s a little nudity between brothers? Honestly you have nothing to be embarrassed about. You make a darling little damsel!”

“Damsel? Is that what this tacky dress is all about? You want to play damsel in distress with me?”

Remus touched his nose in delight.

“Bing bong! You got it!!!”

“Then are you supposed to be the prince or something?”

“Come now brother, do I look like a prin-”

“No.”

“Ouch, you didn’t even let me finish. Now I’m left all limp.”

Roman winced in disgust at that remark.

“No your prince is the brat I left out cold in the valley. I’m taking up the role of the big scary monster who's taking you hostage in my tower.”

“I’d hardly call this cave a tower.”

Remus smirked as he flicked his pointer finger in the direction right behind Roman. A shiver ran down his spine as he cautiously turned around to face the looming figure of a tower, a real tower. It wasn’t something Remus had made, but stole from somewhere. Roman didn’t even want to think about what else Remus might have destroyed in the process of acquiring it, then an even more frightening thought flashed through his mind. Frantically, Roman looked around the room to see if Remus had snatched any people up as well.

“Now, now brother there’s no need to worry. You’re the only toy here and that’s because you’re so special to me. This game is just for the two of us, that is until your tiny friends find you.”

Thank goodness Roman thought as he sighed in relief. No one else had to suffer the way he had all those years ago. He had finally started to relax a little when Remus suddenly began poking at his backside.

  
“No time to waste princess! Time for you to get into the tower and start the game.”

Each poke was more forceful than the last, until Roman found it hard to keep his footing. He toppled over in pain to Remus’s dismay.

“Hey! Don’t ruin the dress, it’s my favorite.”

That was the last straw for Roman. He wasn’t going to be Remus’s plaything, not again.

“ENOUGH! I’m not playing your games anymore Remus! Not now, not ever! Screw you, this ugly dress, this stupid play mat, and the idea that I’m still afraid of you after all this time!”

In a fit of rage Roman chucked the dress and wig off his person and hurled the gloves towards his brother in a challenging manner. Luckily, it seemed Remus had only removed his shirt as he was still wearing his pants and boots. Using his arm he wiped off the paint on his face and scowled at Remus. Remus was not pleased.

“It would appear you’re in need of some punishment in order to correct that boorish attitude of yours.”

Without warning, Roman was forcefully grabbed and lifted high up towards Remus’s face. While startled, Roman wasn’t going to keep quiet like when he was a kid.

“Just try me! There’s nothing you could do that would affect me anymore.”

  
  
“That’s what you’d think, but I’ve had a long time to come up with better punishments. I actually had an epiphany the other day that I think will work quite nicely in turning you docile.”

Roman gulped loudly. What could Remus be thinking of doing to him that he hadn’t already done?

Remus licked his lips.

“You know brother, at my size it wouldn’t be too hard to swallow someone whole. I’ve been playing around with the idea for a while now. I used to lick you all when I was a kid, but now I think it might be fun to try for something bigger than just a taste.”

Roman’s eyes went wide with fear. Remus wouldn’t actually eat him, would he? He must be bluffing, right?

“Woah, hey Remus, yo-you couldn’t actually be entertaining the idea of e-eating me would you?”

Roman was now visibly shaking and his throat had gone dry. The thought of being eaten alive was just too horrifying to imagine.

“I am actually, after all you look like such a taste morsel.”

Remus stuck out his tongue tauntingly as Roman squeezed his eyes shut. He could feel himself being lifted up slowly towards Remus’s mouth as his putrid breath wafted over him. He really was going to be eaten, he thought. Miraculously, a familiar loud cry echoed from outside the cave,

“ROMAN!”

Roman gasped as he flung his eyes open towards the cave entrance with excitement. He was saved!

“Looks like the party crashers have arrived! Ahead of schedule, but after this disappointing first act I’m looking forward to the clim-”

Before Remus could even finish a massive hand launched itself into the cave and pulled him out into the night sky. Startled Remus was not at all prepared for what he would see next. He was now, somehow, locked in place by a giant fist and staring up at a now massive sized Virgil. Never in his life had he seen something or someone bigger than himself. In this moment Remus for once felt completely helpless and small in Virgil’s stern grip.

  
“Wh-what is this? How are you this big all of a sudden? I-I...this isn’t right.”

Previously, outside Virgil had asked Patton and Logan to wait behind him as he went up ahead at max size. He needed them to stay a safe distance away as he confronted Remus head on. They both agreed and waited in the forest for his and Roman’s return. Virgil then walked a considerable distance away before shifting to double his current size, his limit of 1000 feet. This is where he stands now with Remus in his clutches and pissed off!

“Let him go.”

Surprise, by such a suppressing voice coming from the once tiny Virgil, Remus completely missed what he just said. He was now overcome with fear he had never experienced before. He was now the weakling.

“Wh-what?”

“I said let him go, now.”

Virgil repeated himself as calmly as he could. He was fuming with rage right now as he spotted Roman still being held tightly in Remus’s hand. Although, he did take pleasure in seeing Remus afraid of him for once. Still, Virgil couldn’t help thinking about what he had become if even the monsters feared him.

“O-okay….”

Cautiously, Virgil raised his free hand up towards Remus in order to have a safe place for Roman to land on when released. As Roman fell out onto Virgil’s palm he gasped for air as Remus’s grip knocked the wind out of him when they were both pulled out of the cave. Concerned, Virgil gingerly lifted his hand up to his face to get a better look at Roman’s condition. He appeared physically okay, except that he was missing his shirt. Virgil wanted so badly to comfort him, but knew at his current size it would be too dangerous to try. He didn’t want another kissing incident after all.

He decided it would be best to set Roman down for now while he dealt with Remus, however, before he started to move again the image of Roman running towards his face stopped him. Suddenly, Roman was clinging to the arch of Virgil’s nose and sobbing. All the stress and fear he had bottled up in order to put on a brave face melted away the moment he was safe on top of Virgil's hand. Virgil had previously been worried about Roman’s reaction to his now gigantic size after hearing about what happened to him as a child from Patton and Logan on the way here. It appeared his concerns were unwarranted as Roman felt safest when near Virgil.

“Virgil, oh my gosh Virgil, I was so scared!”

“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m here now. You’re safe with me”

“I-I know, but he….he tried to eat me. I thought I wa-was going to die. I’m so glad you showed up when you did!”

Trying his best to keep himself from yelling, “He tried to do what?!”

Remus groaned as the fingers surrounding him suddenly tightened.

“Oh I’m sorry did that hurt? GOOD! How would you feel if I tried to eat you right now?”

Remus chuckled, “That’d be one hell of a french kiss _monsieur monstre_.”

Virgil scoffed in disgust while Roman frowned at Remus calling Virgil of all people a monster.

Not amused, Roman remarked, “The pot calling the kettle black, I see.” 

“You think I’m a monster? Have you been completely ignoring the behemoth you’re standing on? He was so small back in the valley and now he’s somehow ballooned himself to such a size that even my butthole clenches in fear.”

“Geez, did you have to use the word butthole?”

“It’s my word of the day in that I use it every day, all day.”

Virgil and Roman both groaned at this weasel's meaningless antics.

“What should I do with him? Any ideas Roman?”

“Usually we use Logan’s dimensional splitter to just send him and Deceit back into the dark realm. I assume you left him and Patton somewhere safe so I guess that’s not an option right now.”

“Actually, even though I’ve become a resident of the light realm I should still have the ability to form rifts.”

“Really?! Then hurry up and do it before this guy does anymore damage. We still have to locate which town he stole that tower from.”

“He stole a TOWER?!”

Roman sighed, “Yeah...somewhere in the realm, there’s a big mess for us to clean up later.”

“Okay then, no more waiting. It’s time to send Remus back where he belongs.”

With that Virgil created a rift big enough for him to toss Remus into with ease. Remus hummed as he flew into the rift,

“I look forward to the third act another time!”

“Good riddens!” Roman hissed.

Virgil had now bent down to place Roman on the ground as he started shrinking down to a more manageable size.

“You can say that again.”

He rested on 200 feet in order to comfortably hold all three of them once Patton and Logan were retrieved. Roman told them about what happened as Virgil concentrated on getting everyone back to the fort. Once there, it was definitely time for bed. Before Virgil headed back to his room for the night he was stopped by Roman.

“Hey Virgil...I know you’re really tired and probably rather sleep in your own bed after such an eventful night, but do you think you could sleep with me instead?”

“You want me to sleep with you for tonight?”

“If that’s not too much to ask. I’m...still really shaken up from what happened. Even though in my mind I know Remus is gone I can’t help feeling I’m not completely safe yet.”

“I don’t mind at all Roman.” Virgil blushed.

“Really?! Thank you so much! Come one, I’ll lead you there.”

Roman cheerful took Virgil by the hand and led him to his room. Inside the walls were covered in Disney posters and theater playbills. There was pink glitter on the ceiling and the bed covering was of a unicorn jumping over a rainbow. Overall, it was super colorful compared to his.

“Come on in!”

Roman had already tucked himself into bed and was waiting patiently for Virgil to join him. Sheepishly, Virgil climbed into bed and laid his head down on the plush pillow facing Roman. Roman did the same and smiled softly towards him.

“Thank you for saving me Virgil.”

Virgil looked away.

“Even though I was completely useless at the valley?”

Roman reached out his hand to stroke Virgil’s face.

“Now you listen here. That wasn’t your fault and anyone else in your position also would have been knocked out cold if a giant stomped on them suddenly.”

Virgil chuckled as he lifted his hand up to touch Roman’s and leaned into it.

“You’re right, sorry. I accept your thanks.”

“Good. Now for your reward.”

“My wa-”

Without warning, Virgil found himself locking lips with Roman in a passionate kiss! Stunned, Virgil simply let himself enjoy the moment until Roman pulled away slowly. Both of them were fully satisfied with the exchange and blushing deeply with embarrassment.

“We-well goodnight Virgil!” he stuttered as he hid himself under the covers.

“Ye-yeah goodnight Roman!” he also stuttered as he turned to face the wall.

Neither of them could manage to face the other for the remainder of the night. Even though they had kissed in the valley, when at the same height it was somehow more intimate.

To be continued.


	15. What If

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan and Virgil are talking about the possibility of meeting Thomas to talk over these changes that have been happening as of late. However, the anxious boy isn't so sure that's such a good idea as his mind thinks of the many 'what ifs'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Panic/Anxiety Attack

Over the course of a few days Virgil continued to sleep with Roman in his bed and wake up every morning to a grateful kiss. Sometimes Roman would sleep on top of Virgil when he had nightmares in order to calm down. A week has gone by since the Light Sides run in with Remus. Roman was slowly, but surely recovering by sticking close to Virgil and talking with Logan during lunch. Things were finally returning to normalcy, but another important matter needed to be addressed.

Today Virgil had a meeting with Logan in his study. He was unsure about what this talk would consist of, but Logan’s tone was stern. Not that, that wasn’t characteristic to his personality, but something about it made it sound extra stern. Virgil was a ball of nerves as he meekly made his entrance.

“Hey Logan. What is it you wanted to talk with me about?”

“Ah Virgil right on time. Please come in and have a seat first.”

“O-Okay.”

Sheepishly, Virgil sat himself down in the chair provided for him in front of Logan’s desk. He felt like he had been sent to the principal's office as he twiddled his thumbs. What was this all about anyway? He didn’t do something wrong right? Virgil really couldn’t think of one thing that would have made Logan upset with him so he continued to stew in awkward silence until Logan spoke up,

Logan: “Now Virgil there’s no need to look so uneasy. I’ve only asked you to come here to talk over the data I’ve compiled about your size-shifting ability and another matter afterwards.”

Virgil sighed with relief,

“Oh man it was just about that? Thank goodness, you had me worried I’d need to do more tests for you Logan.”

“An understandable conclusion, but no tests anymore. From the data I’ve compiled I believe I understand your ability sufficiently enough.”

“Cool….what did you find?”

“For starters we’ve established that your original height was 50 feet tall, but now that this unique ability of yours has awakened you can now expand to 1000 feet as your maximum. You’ve climbed to this height twice now, once when your control was weak and another when you had developed it more. Thus, resulting in you not shrinking like last time.”

“Yeah I noticed that after I finally got Roman back safely and tossed Remus into the rift. It hadn’t even dawned on me that I still had perfect control over my growth until we picked up Patton and you in the forest. I’m kind of relieved I didn’t shrink again.”

“Indeed, such a draw-back might have been a problem in the unforeseeable future. It would also appear that you can’t shrink yourself the same way you can grow.”

“Mhm...I tried once when I was with Roman and Patton on the training grounds. Even though I could picture it the feeling that came over me was unpleasant.”

“Unpleasant?”

“Like unnatural....”

“I suppose that’s a good sign as you were originally giant and your natural being is still such. Wanting to forcibly shrink probably goes against your nature.”

“My nature huh.”

Virgil looked down at his hands and pondered to himself about that night with Remus. He had scared him, one of the monsters that tormented Thomas and the others. Did that make him even worse than a monster? If so then what was he, why did he have this ability?

“Logan, d-do you have any ideas about what I am?”

Logan wasn’t usually a sentimental type, but in that moment he rose from his desk and walked casually over to Virgil’s side. Gently he rested his hand on Virgil’s shoulder and spoke with a charming smile on his face,

“You’re family Virgil. You may have worries about these changes, but it’s a process you are not alone to deal with. We are all here for you so take comfort in that thought.”

Virgil was stunned, he had no idea Logan was capable of riddling off such sweet words. He must have been taking lessons from Roman and Patton. Logan was always the quiet observer type after-all.

“Thanks Logan, I needed to hear that.”

Tenderly, Virgil rested his head on Logan’s arm for a moment of affection. It was at this time Virgil had a startling realization.

“Now that I think about it, you never once expressed any fear when my secret was exposed or since then. Weren’t you afraid of me too?”

“Of course not Virgil. You’ve never given me a reason to fear you.”

“I-I….thank you.”

Virgil had become teary eyed. To think this whole time he feared himself more than those around him. He finally felt a sense of peace in himself as he jumped from his chair and quickly embraced Logan. Logan on the other hand was perplexed by Virgil’s sudden embrace and frantically searched his memory for how to properly respond in situations like this. Yet, he was never given the chance as Virgil pushed him awake in shock.

“Ah sorry Logan...I forgot you don’t really enjoy hugs. My emotions got the better of me.”

“It’s alright. Some affection is good for a healthy mindset from time to time. Though, I think that might have been enough for a lifetime in my case.”

Virgil laughed, whether that was a joke or not.

“Oh no, Patton’s going to be so disappointed to hear that.”

Logan smirked.

“Extremely. Now to continue with our previous discussion if you will.”

Logan motioned towards the chair void of Virgil’s presence as he returned to his desk. Virgil scurried back hastily.

“To continue, I’ve come to the conclusion that this ability of yours is tied to your emotions obviously, but is also how you were always meant to be.”

“What?! I-I’m meant to be like this? That doesn’t make any sense though. The Dark Sides are giant because of them destabilizing and the Light Sides are normal since they have a stable core. Yet, I’m neither of those.”

Logan: “That is correct. However, your core is stable just the same as mine, Roman, and Patton’s. You are effectively a Light Side now, yet you’ve retained Dark Side attributes. These include your size-shifting, the ability to shift non-living objects, create rifts, and indirectly affecting Thomas.”

“I’m still affecting him like before...that’s terrible.”

“Now no need to be so glum about this revelation. All we need to do is go see Thomas an-”

“GO SEE THOMAS!?”

Virgil sprang from his seat yet again in surprise. Never in his wildest dreams did he think he’d have the chance to actually meet Thomas in person. As a former Dark Side he didn’t possess the summoning attribute like the Light Sides. Without it you could never manifest in the physical world.

“Can I really go see him?!”

“You can. As a Light Side you now possess the summoning attribute that allows you to summon yourself to Thomas or be summoned by Thomas.”

Amazing, Virgil thought! He wondered what the physical world would be like. Is it similar to the mindscape? Would he be able to hug Thomas and properly apologize for his past actions? Would Thomas like him? At first Virgil’s thoughts were pleasant as he imagined his first meeting. Progressively darker ideas started to surface.

What if something went wrong while in the physical world? Logan had said his emotions were tied to his size-shifting so what if he got overwhelmed and started to grow while there? Could he grow in the physical world? If he could, what would Thomas think? These and more thoughts flooded his mind as a cold sweat formed on his face. Virgil noticeably started to tremble as he began mumbling to himself. Logan became alert to Virgil’s change in demeanor and once again walked over to him. He got down on his knees right in front of the chair and held Virgil’s hands.

Logan: “Virgil, hey Virgil, tell me what’s wrong.”

Virgil: “What i-if something happens with my ability when I go meet Thomas? You said it yourself that my power is connected to my emotions so it’s possible I could start growing while there right? What if the summoning messes with my body and I can’t stop? What if when I get summoned it’s when I’m giant sized? What height am I going to be when I get there anyway?”

Logan tightened his grip on Virgil’s hands.

“You need to calm down. Yes, there are some unknowns, but right now you’re being irrational.”

“No, no, you just said there are some UNKNOWNS! That means something could happen. I could grow so big I take up the entire room and hurt Thomas by crushing him! Maybe I’ll outgrow the house, then the neighborhood, town, city…..”

  
Virgil continued to ramble on.

Logan was becoming increasingly concerned by this sudden development and had no idea how to handle it. It was time to call in reinforcements. Quickly, he got up from the floor and made his way out the room to go find Roman and Patton to help him talk down Virgil.

Virgil: “What if being in the physical world and close to Thomas increases my powers and I go past 1000 feet? How big would I get? Could I even control myself after that? Would I just continue to grow? What if I get so big that I could hold the planet in the palm of my hand?”

*BAM*

Patton: “Now hold your horses there kiddo! Know that I’d still love you even if you did get that big, but let’s be realistic for a second.”

Roman: “What Patton said. Even I couldn’t imagine you ever getting that large. So you have nothing to be worried about.”

Both Patton and Roman had abruptly busted into the room to help calm Virgil down. Patton moved towards the front and kneeled down to be eye level with Virgil. Roman took the backside and softly wrapped his arms around Virgil in a hug. Patton grabbed onto Virgil’s hands and placed both to his face and caressed them with his cheeks.

“You’re safe kiddo. We love you and we’re here for you.”

“Thomas is going to love you just like we do and he’ll be so excited to finally meet you.”

“You have nothing to be anxious about because we are all a part of Thomas.”

“That’s right.”

Who was that? Was that in my head?

“Wha-”

In a flash of white Virgil squeezed his eyes shut until he heard the voice again.

“Hello Virgil.”

The light had faded substantially as Virgil opened his eyes to peer at the figure in front of him. They had their hand outstretched towards him and a smile on their face. They felt familiar, like a friend you hadn’t seen since childhood. Virgil gingerly reached out to touch the figures hand as he rose to his feet. All those negative thoughts had completely vanished as he vision cleared. Who he saw in front of him now was none other than Thomas himself.

“Th-Thomas?”

“Yep it’s me, in the flesh.”

Virgil couldn’t believe it. He was here with Thomas in the physical world and not at giant size to boot. He couldn’t help himself from crying. There was so much he wanted to say, to apologize for. He didn’t know where to start as he just kept sobbing.

“I missed you too.”

Suddenly, Thomas had pressed himself into Virgil’s chest and latched his arms onto his back in an embrace. Instantly, Virgil clung onto Thomas in response and continued to bawl. Just those few words unlocked past memories long forgotten in Virgil’s heart. Before his own destabilization and the moments he shared with Thomas in his youth. This wasn’t their first meeting, it was a reunion!

Virgil: “I’m home!”

To be continued.


	16. Changing Sides

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a flashback of events that took place before Chapter 15.   
> Virgil awakes to find he has size shifted at random in his bed and not only that, but he has a fever. However, the sides can't get sick so what is happening to him and how can his family help?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Pain/ Someone Being Hurt/ Cursing/ Swearing/ Panic/ A Little Steamy

Virgil moaned as his body expanded past his bed frame and his heels touched the carpet. He had no idea what was happening to him, he simply woke up like this. His breathing was shallow and his face flushed from a high fever. Whatever was happening was affecting his core as he couldn’t control his size. The next jump came with his bed collapsing underneath him as his foot kicked the door in. It flew into the wall with a crash, waking up the other occupants of the house.

  
“What in the world was that?” shouted Roman, hurrying himself into robe and out into the hallway.

Patton had already made his way to where the sound came from and stood in front of the door frame leading to Virgil’s room. Logan followed behind in a panic.

“What was that crashing sound Patton?” Logan called out in worry.

Patton didn’t reply and only stood there at the doorway with a look of terror on his face. He really couldn’t explain what he was seeing as he stepped inside. Virgil was now pressed up against the wall of his room as his body covered any visible space. Needless to say he was extremely uncomfortable and scared.

Patton took a big gulped before speaking, “H-hey kiddo? What’s this all about, is everything okay?”

Patton’s eyes were teary...it wasn’t like he was scared of Virgil specifically, but this series of events was too similar to Remus’s destabilization. The memories of that night didn’t just haunt Roman’s mind, it terrorized them all. Virgil couldn’t be destabilizing could he? He was doing so well before.

Virgil was panting as he looked down hearing Patton’s tiny voice stuttering. “Pat, I don’t know what’s going on...my body feels really hot and my cores going crazy.”

His body was hot? “What do you mean hot Virgil?” No response as the giant groaned in pain. This tight space was taking a toll on his aching joints.

“It would appear he has a fever.”

Surprised at the sudden voice Patton whipped around to see Roman and Logan enter, the best they could, into the room.

“A fever? Lo we don’t get sick. How does Virgil have a fever?”

“I’m only reading out the report my scanner is picking up. I personally have no idea why his body temperature has risen.”

Roman’s face went pale at the sight, “He’s not de-destabilizing is he?”

Obviously, out of all of them Roman was not ready to ever relive that kind of nightmare again. Especially if Virgil grew into a 1000 foot tall raging giant!

“Both of you need to calm down, he’s not destabilizing. However, his body is going through a dramatic change of sorts that I’ve no data on. All we can do is observe and hope for the best outcome.”

It wasn’t everyday Logan of all people found themselves lacking the knowledge to assist someone with. He was frustrated as Virgil’s face winced in pain. What in the world was going on?

“You mean we can’t help him?” Patton whimpered.

“I’m sorry Patton, but that is correct.”

That was the moment the waterworks popped out as Patton started sobbing. Only able to look on as Virgil suffered was just too heartbreaking. Same as not knowing what was happening.

“Pa-tton.” Virgil whined.

He felt so far away from them, of how he wanted to just shrink back down. Instantly, like magic he did just that. The sudden down-sizing was so dramatic he was partially airborne for a moment as he landed hard back onto his broken bed. “Ow.”

“Oh my gosh Virgil! Are you okay?” Patton ran to his now normal sized friend and hugged him. The others following suit in worry.

Virgil sighed with relief, “Not really, but at least I can see you all better.”

He hugged them all back, but he could feel a warm pulse rising up again from his core. He pushed them back as he leaped out of bed.

“I can feel that what’s ever causing my random shifting isn’t going away anytime soon. I need to get out of the house for now, but…” Virgil fell to the floor with a loud thump.

His body wasn’t listening and it felt like it was made of lead. All his strength was gone as he started crawling towards the door. Virgil could tell the next spurt was going to be a lot bigger! Way bigger than his tiny room and maybe even the house. He was desperate to get out to a more open area. That’s when he felt two pairs of arms hoist him up and rested his arms on their shoulders.

“Don’t worry kiddo we got you!”

“Your carriage awaits!”

Carriage? Behind the scenes, Logan had ordered his robots to go clear out the facility and make a makeshift bed inside for their weakened patient. Finally, there was something he could do to help.

“Thanks.” Virgil blushed as he was dragged out into the hall and towards the front door.

Unfortunately, once they had finally stepped outside that’s when another surge hit. Virgil yelped as he tried his best to push his friends away. Roman had made it, but Patton screamed as a massive hand of a 40 foot tall giant slammed into him. He was now pinned to the ground momentarily and thrashing about in pain as Virgil’s vision blurred. The giant's head was spinning as the blood curdling cries of his tiny friends wails reached his ringing ears.

  
“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!”

In horror Virgil quickly felt Patton’s tiny form wiggling underneath his palm as he retracted it. No, no, no, no, no! Please, oh God please be alright. Virgil was in a panic as he lowered his head down to make sure Patton was still breathing. He hadn’t broken him right? Luckily, the sight of Patton’s chest rising and falling relieved his heart. Still, that didn’t change the fact that he had hurt someone important to him...someone who trusted him.

Roman had been paralyzed by fear for what felt like hours at the sight of Patton being trapped underneath Virgil’s gigantic. The screams now reaching his ears as he called out,

“PATTON!” he rushed straight to his friend’s side to check on him.

“Oh my gosh Patton! Are you okay? Can you stand?” Of course Patton was not okay, but he was still in one piece as he grabbed onto Roman’s hand and squeezed.

“Still kicking.” he giggled. How could he laugh at a time like this? “Sorry if I scared you kiddo, I’m just a bit winded and….sore.” He winced as he sat himself up. Roman sliding his free hand on the poor guys back to keep him steady.

“What about Virgil?”

At this point the gloomy giant had stood up and walked himself over to the facility. For some reason when he was big he had plenty of energy to move about. Although, his high fever caused him to stumble from time to time shaking the earth beneath him. He growled to himself, haven’t I caused my family enough trouble as is?

Once he reached the shutter doors he realized he was far too big to go inside. Defeated he just stood there thinking about shrinking back down so he could duck inside as soon as possible. I mean it worked last time.

“Virgil?”

Slowly, the sulking giant turned his attention towards Patton who now needed help from Roman just to stand. His heart cried out as the guilt and fear was building inside of him. He had hurt one of people he swore to protect...but who was going to protect them from him? This was too much!

“Hey now Virg, don't make that kind of face. I’m okay see!” Patton motioned to his slumped over body. How was that okay? “Besides I know you didn’t mean it. It was just an accident.”

Virgil shook his head, “No Pat I hurt you, like really hurt you! I need you to stay away from me for a bit while whatever ‘this’ is passes.”

Patton frowned, “I will do no such thing big man! You’re the one who needs our help the most right now and I’ll be healed up in no time!”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t get hurt again. If you haven’t noticed each growth is bigger than the last and it always comes in two’s”

Virgil’s tone was cold as he could feel another surge coming. He backed away from the facility to give himself room. This was miserable, why was this happening to him? These thoughts cluttered his mind as he watched the buildings and people around him grow smaller and smaller. His towering frame rumbling the ground as he now stood at 100 feet. Now he really couldn’t fit inside the facility he huffed desperately wanting to lie down.

Carefully, he shifted his weight to at least get down on his knees to wait for himself to shrink back down. Guess thinking about it wasn’t what caused it to happen last time after all. Logan had returned shocked to see Virgil had grown to bigger heights and that Patton was clinging on to Roman. “What happened here?”

“Oh Lo, it’s nothing!”

Both Roman and Logan shot the sweet boy a look of, really?

With a scowl Logan motioned to Patton’s current posture, “This doesn't look like nothing Patton.”

A sad smile crept up on Patton’s face as he turned back towards Virgil. “It wasn’t his fault, but when we got outside Virgil had another fit and grew instantly.” Patton paused as his chest tightened, “I um….I got caught underneath his hand and pressed down into the ground. I couldn’t help but scream. It hurt so much!”

Finally he spoke his mind as Patton started breaking down in tears. Oh man, he was being a big crybaby today. This whole situation was so stressful. Logan shivered at the thought, but quieted his mind as he looked Patton over again. While his natural healing was taking its time, Patton showed no signs of cracking.

“I suppose Virgil was upset with himself and that’s why he’s now away from you both and mopping?”

“Yeah, the giant storm cloud is waiting patiently for the gates to open.” Logan had no idea what that meant as he sighed, “Once he’s shrunk back down we should head over to him. Whether he likes it or not we’re going to be there for him.”

Roman and Patton both nodded in agreement. Virgil couldn’t get rid of them that easily!

Finally he thought as Virgil felt his core calming down. Quickly, his shrunken body fell to the ground. This time he was ready as he caught himself with his hands as he jumped towards the facility doors in an attempt to hurry inside. I say attempt because he missed completely. “FUCK!”

“Here kiddo, let us get that for you.” Slowly, the door to salvation opened and he was once again lifted up by his helpful friends. “You guys….” Virgil didn’t know what to say to this stubborn bunch anymore. Gingerly, he was placed on the massive mound of blankets and pillows the robots had gathered for him. Right now it felt like he was on a giant cloud as he laid his weary head down. His fever was spiking again as his body pulsed wanting to stretch.

“You all may want to step back a bit. I can feel another surge coming and I couldn’t bear it if I hurt any more of you.”

Understanding Virgil’s pleas, the trio took shelter up stairs on the balcony so they could watch as he expanded violently to 250 feet. The ceiling smacked his face as he placed his hands up against it. “Hope this works,” he mumbled.

Miraculously, the facility too began to enlarge to give him a lot more space. How did he do that, the three wondered? “Virgil! Wha-what was that?”

Panting the giant turned to his tiny companions with a pleased smirk on his face. “Recently I started thinking back to the first time I grew in here and how there was no way I could still fit inside at 1000 feet. So I did some experimenting of my own and found out I can shift non-living objects. That’s why my clothes don’t rip whenever I grow.” A collective ‘Oh’ could be heard from the tiny group. Why had they never questioned that before?

“You guys look so dumb right now.” He laughed, his booming voice softly rattling his surroundings.

“That’s amazing Virgil!” Patton was the first to pipe up with enthusiasm. He’s body had fully healed itself and he was peppy as ever now!

Virgil froze, he still wasn’t sure how to act around Patton. Sure he looked fine, but was he really? He decided to take a chance and reached out towards the little sweetie. To his bewilderment Patton didn’t flinch at all, but instead leaped gleefully into his hand. Carefully, Virgil brought Patton to his chest and placed him on top.

“Patton, are you okay?” Virgil large eyes peering down at him with a solemn expression.

He knew Virgil would want a serious answer so Patton took a deep breath, “I am.”

Virgil didn’t look convinced. “Or...I am now. Before I was really scared and it hurt a lot, but you need to know that wasn’t your fault Virg. I know you didn’t mean to hurt me, you’d never do something like that on purpose.”

  
Lying down Patton could clearly hear Virgil’s heartbeat as his body was lifted up and down to the rhythm of his breathing. This is nice he thought as he kissed the pounding chest. Virgil moaned a bit at the feeling of Patton’s lips pressed against him. The fever was getting to him again as he placed both hands over his little buddy for protection. Per usual he began to grow rapidly, continuing to fill up the space as he stopped at 500 feet.

Virgil groaned as his fever wasn’t going down and his growth wasn’t stopping. “Shit,” he whimpered, continuing to shield Patton in his colossal hands. Spontaneously, the giant shot up all the way to his limit of 1000. His feet pressed against the door begging to bust out of their container and the walls creaked. Virgil was sadly too worn out to expand his surroundings again. The two tinies left on the balcony grew concerned and hopped off, landing on the titan’s shoulder.

They could feel the immense heat radiating from their friend’s enormous body, but their tensions dropped at the sight of Virgil sweating profusely. It would appear his fever had broken as he huffed loudly from exhaustion. He could feel his friends moving about his person and remained still as not to jostle them about. Virgil was relieved to have his family there with him. He could feel his body slowly start to shrink back down.

“It appears his fever’s broken and the worst of this has passed.”

“Yeah, but we still have no idea what ‘this’ even was!” Roman protested.

“Indeed. Once we’ve all reached the ground again I’ll call over one of my scanner bots to take a new reading. It wasn’t able to collect anything during Virgil’s episode due to how random his spurts were.”

Gradually, Virgil down-sized steadily as the others on his chest slide off the sides of his body to continue watching curiously. The shrinking behemoth shivered with each drop in size. Finally he returned to normal completely exhausted on the heap of blankets and pillows beneath him. His limbs stretched out, free from the previous tension of the facility walls. Straight away Patton ran to Virgil and held him in his arms overcome with worry.

“Virgil, oh my gosh kiddo are you okay now?” How do you feel, do you need anything?” he continued to ramble on like this to Virgil’s amusement.

Moving his hand to stroke Patton’s face, he whispered, “I’m doing alright now. The fever is almost gone and my strength is returning. I’m sorry if I scared you earlier, but thanks for sticking by me.”

“Thank goodness!” In the spur of the moment Patton bent down. Virgil’s head was placed on the small sides lap as he planted a kiss on his sweetheart’s lips.

Surprised, Virgil blushed deeply as he let himself be swept up in the moment. Patton was so soft and tasted kind of sweet as they continued to lock lips. Eventually, Patton released his hold on the boy and smiled shyly down at him. That was amazing!

*cough* *cough*

Oh that’s right, there was an audience looking over them! Roman was flushed as he remembered his first same sized kiss with Virgil in his room. Logan on the other hand was not entertained by the show as he adjusted his glasses.

“Patton, please take a step back from Virgil so I may conduct an accurate scan.” Without hesitation Patton scurried backwards. He left the rest of ‘this’ to Logan.

Swiftly, one of Logan’s bots came over to scan Virgil’s body. Using his display pen he pulled from his breast pocket, Logan tapped the air and a hologram screen appeared. From the screen he read the results to himself. However, what he was looking at was groundbreaking!

“I-I can’t believe this...yo-you’ve restablized!”

Restabalized!? At just the mention of that word the others scrambled over to Logan’s side to sneak a peek. Virgil on the other hand was very confused.

“What in the world is restabilizing?”

“It’s a process I’ve only theorized about till now as a ‘what if’ scenario. It was one of many and the least fleshed at….meaning I had almost no data to go off of when constructing the idea. So to witness it in person is earth shattering!”

Logan’s entire body trembled at the possibilities of this new discovery.

“That doesn’t really answer my question though.” Virgil sighed as he lifted himself up.

His strength had returned enough to keep him upright sitting, but not standing. It was like he was in a completely new body he was learning how to control.

“What that means Virgil is your emotional core is now completely stable. This kind of thing shouldn’t ever happen again!”

“WAIT, is that true!?”

“It is kiddo, but it also means...you’re one of us now...a Light Side.”

A Light Side? Was he really now a Light Side? Is that why his body felt so foreign to him all of a sudden? Sure his outward appearance didn’t change, but inside he felt at peace with himself. This new enlightenment caused him to start sobbing with happiness.

“Oh Virgil!” Patton ran back to him for a warm embrace.

“Ah geez with the waterworks, and you call me a drama queen!” Roman teased as he joined in.

Logan faltered for a moment; he was not a hug guy, but it would appear this time he could make an exception. “Yes, yes congratulations.” He whispered kneeling down to add to the family pile.

There was so much love flowing into him he shifted in size to get a better grasp of everyone. His long arms reaching around all of them easily and pulling them up to his chest gleefully! This was the best kind of feeling he whispered in his heart. Still, there was a lot to figure out, but right now Virgil was in pure bliss.

To be continued.


	17. The Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A shocking and tearful truth is revealed and part one of the actions that started it all come to fruition. Now the family must come to terms with what has been done and come up with a plan to move forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Swearing/Cursing/Memory Loss/Paranoia/Violence

What was happening? Suddenly, Virgil’s mind was filled with memories of a past he had forgotten. A past of a full family living together in the Light Side of the mindscape. His head hurt as he slumped over in Thomas’s arms. 

“Woah hey there. Take your time, I think we all are feeling rather confused right now.” 

Thomas looked to the others who were holding their heads. It looked like they were all having a massive migraine. 

“What is this? These memories...are they real?” Roman was in disbelief. 

“No please stop!” Patton cried out. Whatever he was remembering seemed to be painful.

“How could we have forgotten? Is this another side-effect of destabilization? How cruel.” Logan mumbled. 

Virgil stood up, gripping onto Thomas’s shoulder for support. “Guys, are you all okay?” It’s like they were all having a mind blast! It was going to take a second for the dizzy spell to disappear. 

“I don’t know, this is all so confusing!” Roman shuffled over to grab Virgil’s hand. “Still to think we could ever forget you. I’m so sorry Virgil.” 

Logan followed suit, except for the hand part. “Indeed, I am also sorry Virgil. This current situation is unprecedented! A complete wipe of someone's existence from the mindscape...it’s too much to fathom.” 

Patton remained as the others looked to him. He was bawling as he continued to wipe away his tears in a losing battle. “I can’t! This is...this is too much. It’s all my fault Virgil! How could I ever apologize enough to you over what I’ve done?”

“Patton...it’s o-”

“IT’S NOT! It’s n-not okay Virgil. I-I-I caused you to destabilize!” 

This was the shocking truth. Sides didn’t destabilize by nature and they didn’t do it to themselves. Destabilizing always required a catalyst and for Virgil, that had been Patton. 

Many years ago in the mindscape Virgil was known as Curiosity. He was naive and full of questions. He had no sense of danger and this had led to a tragedy no one would remember. The aftermath is the story of his own destabilizing. 

\-------  
 **Many Years Ago in the Mindscape** :

  
Months...it had been months since Janus was erased from the others minds. Yet, for some reason I remember him. How he was like a big brother to me and would always keep me safe. How did this happen? Was it my fault, or was it them who made him disappear? Virgil felt like he was losing his mind as his doubts grew day-by-day.

“Hey kiddo! How are you doing?” Suddenly, Patton snuck his way into the sulking sides room with a fresh batch of cookies. 

“Fine I guess...I’d be a lot better if you told me where Janus went to though.” Virgil pleaded with his eyes as he stared at Patton. If he could trust anyone it should be Morality right? 

“Oh no. Did you lose your imaginary frien-”

“HE’S NOT IMAGINARY!!!” 

Virgil shoved Patton up against the wall with a loud thud. His strength was unreal, the innocent cookies fell to the ground in horror. “Woah! Woah! Virgil I’m sorry. I-I didn’t mean to upset you. Please you need to calm down.”

“NO! What I need is big brother Janus!!! Where is he? WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM!?” Virgil came in fast for another go, but Patton dodged as he scrambled to the door. “I’m sorry.” 

Patton let out a sorrowful apology as he fled from the room to find the others. 

“Patton! What happened to you?” Virgil’s shouting and that large thud had alerted the entire household so some kind of trouble. 

“Ah Roman...I-I don’t know what to do.” He began crying into his stock friend’s chest. “I want to help, but I have no idea who this Janus person Virgil keeps going on about is. What do I do?”

“Oh gosh Pat, it’s going to be okay. We can work together to figure this out.”

“Y-yeah you’re right let’s go find Logan and come up with a plan.”

Roman smiled as he held his friend's hand tightly. Hastily, they walked down the hallway until they reached Logan’s office. “Hey it’s Pat and I.” A quick knock and then they entered. “Bro!”

“Ah Remus? Why are you here?”

“I thought it best to have all of us here to discuss this current issue with Curiosity.” 

Guess that made sense. Still it was hard for Roman to be near his impulsive brother. His thoughts were always too intense. Yet, he seemed quite calm for the moment; at least Roman could breathe easy for the time being. The group took their spots around the desk to begin formulating their plan. “So...what exactly is happening with Virgil?”

“Well, we have a theory.”

“We? You don’t mean you and Remus do you Lo?”

“I do actually.” Logan eyed the creative twin while adjusting his glasses. “The both of us believe Virgil is undergoing a mental change based on Thomas’s growth. Yet, it’s putting a strain on his mind...thus he is mixing up fantasy with reality.”

“Really? You think Curiosity is having some kind of meltdown?”

“Well brother, you and I both know first hand how intense mental changes can be on us sides.” Remus smirked, twirling his mustache. 

True, the twins were definitely the prime example of how extreme these changes could be. However, this had been going on for months. When Roman and Remus split it only took a few seconds. Why was this situation so different? Because it was Virgil or because it was only one side being affected? 

While Roman was lost in thought Patton spoke up, “If that’s true then we need to be there for him. He’s obviously confused and pained by thoughts he’s not able to control.”

“Agreed. I’d like to have you be led on Virgil’s treatment until this passes. If you need anything the rest of us will support you Patton.” 

“Thanks Lo!” 

With that their plan was set into motion...the only problem being that they had no idea what was really going on. Lurking inside the darkened room was a side falling into madness by his fragmented memories of a now forgotten family member. “Liars. They are all liars.”

Two weeks went by with Virgil sinking further and further into his paranoid thoughts. He spent most of his time in his room and avoided contact with the other sides at all cost. Annoyingly, Patton always came to his door in the morning, afternoon, and evening to talk with him from the hallway. 

“He’s a deceiver. You can’t trust them or anyone. They lie, all they do is lie.” Virgil only let out hushed mumbling to Pat’s meaningless chatter.   
“Think you could come to dinner tonight? We miss you a whole bunch kiddo!” 

Same kind words. “Will Janus be there?” Same old question. 

“...no. Virgil please, this Janus person isn’t real. You’re just confused kiddo, but that’s okay. I’ll always be here for you, we’re family after-all.”

Liar! Deceiver! Fake! All of them were just a bunch of snakes trying to lure him out in order to suffocate his mind with false ideas. No more. No more. NO MORE!!!

*CRASH*

“What in the world?!” Suddenly a loud crashing sound came from behind the door. “What was that?”

“Roman! I-I don’t know. I was just in the hallway when this loud noise came from behind that locked door.”

“Stand back!” 

Quickly moving aside Roman proceeded to slice the lock with his trusty katana and kick down the door. Yet, nothing could prepare the sides for what they saw next. A tall, looming shadow inching higher and higher into the air until two large purple hued eyes stared down at them.

“Oh my…”

“I-it’s a giant! We need to get the others, we’re under attack!” 

Snatching Patton’s hand, the two booked it to the dinning hall and alerted the others to the current situation. Mysteriously though, once the group returned the giant was nowhere to be seen and another family member was erased from their memories’. 

\-------  
 **Back to Current Time** :

Slowly, Virgil made his way to his crying friend and shifted to a size where he could easily pick him up. 

“Hey there Pop-star. You don’t need to cry so much on my account.” 

Patton chuckled a bit at the pun as he looked up to Virgil with a lingering expression of pain and sorrow. “I-I’m so sorry I didn’t believe you. That I wasn’t there for you like I should have been.” 

The baby sized side raised a hand up to caress his long lost friend's face. “You couldn’t have known Pat and besides it’s in the past now. I’m just glad that you remember now...you do remember right?”

“Yeah, I think? Like I remember you, but Janus...he’s still kind of fuzzy. I remember him interacting with you, but still nothing on my own relationship with him. Sorry.”

“No, no it’s okay. What you’ve said is enough.”

“While that may be true I’d like to know more about this strange phenomenon. Why do we forget...why do you forget?” Logan came over. He needed answers, they all did. “I mean not even Thomas himself was aware of this!” 

“Now that I’ve remembered everything I hope I can answer all your questions.” Virgil set Patton down and shifted downwards. “To start, when you destabilize your mind and the entire mindscape goes into shock.”

“Shock?”

“Y-yeah. In order to fight against the trauma the mind r-represses Thomas’s mind and our minds as well. That’s how it affects all of us. I forget about you all and you forget about me in order for the mindscape to stay balanced. It also works to stabilize my body as it expands.”

Everyone was gobsmacked at this information. “Wh-what do you mean by stabilizing your body?”

Virgil looked to his family with saddened eyes. “As you expand...cracks appear. The repression helps stop the already unstable core from....shattering.”

“Fuck. That’s so messed up.” Roman held himself, pained by what he was learning. 

“So either you forget about who you are and about all your loved ones or you break?” This was all so heartbreaking as Patton made his way to Roman for comfort. 

“Mhm…” Silence. Virgil didn’t really know what else to say at the moment. Honestly there was nothing more to say. This was the cold, hard truth and yet there were two blaring problems. “Remus...what about my brother? H-he remembers! How!?”

“Yeah what about Remus and Janus too? You were able to restabilize so can’t the two of them as well?” Was there any hope for the others who were afflicted? Virgil appeared uneasy at the notion, but tried to stay level headed. 

“I-I’m not sure. The thing is that we shift in size to minimize the damage to our cracked bodies. Even though growing causes cracking, the cracks are smaller in comparison...so tha-”

“That means the bigger you are the more cracks you have.” Finally Thomas spoke up with a serious expression plastered on his face. 

“Is that why Remus is different, because he’s the biggest?” Virgil nodded. 

“The way we destabilize has an effect on it too. I destabilized because I felt betrayed and alone so forgetting definitely helped to lower my anxieties. Remus on the other hand destabilized because he wanted his brother back. I think because of those strong feelings he remembered at least you Roman. Yet, that discrepancy in his mind caused him to crack even more than I or Janus.”

“And because of that we remembered him as well.”

“Though, I forgot because the effect was only on you guys and not me overall.” 

“So it’s my fault my brother ended up like that.” 

  
Virgil winced and quickly embraced Roman in his arms. Princey’s eyes widened by the sudden show of affection by the usually shy side. Still he wrapped his arms around his friend's warm body and internally thanked him for the hug. 

“Roman you can’t blame yourself. You didn’t know, none of you did!” Ro nodded, pulling Virgil back to look him in the face with a brand new resolve.

“Right! Then we have to make up for our ignorance and save them both!” His eye’s sparkling.

“That’s the spirit kiddo!” A rescue operation huh? Guess it was only fitting with this bunch of action heroes. 

It was time for a plan, a real plan now that everyone had the necessary information. Finally the truth was revealed, the cruel reality of it all lay before them. Although, who were they going to go after first?

To be continued.


	18. Reconciliation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil has gone off on his own to save the family member he had long forgotten. What awaits him when he faces down Janus alone? Can he be saved, or is it too late to reconcile?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Crying/Shouting/Cursing/Anxiety Attack/Pain/Slight Physical Harm
> 
> Side-note: The main ship in this series is fluff LAMP. Janus is seen as a guardian figure to the other sides and is therefore not shipped with any of them. All sides are the same age, but their maturity varied in the past.

It was night when Virgil started making his way out of the window from his room, sneaking past Logan’s surveillance drones, and into the surrounding woods. Two weeks had gone by of them discussing, or more like arguing over which of the remaining destabilized giants to go after. Obviously, Roman wanted to save his brother as soon as possible! On top of that Logan supported his wishes based purely on the fact that Remus was closest to breaking apart.

However, Virgil wanted to go for Janus instead. He was the first to destabilize so Virgil thought it only fair and Patton agreed with him. Saying he’d suffered enough of not being able to remember his family for the past years. Yet, there was another reason the anxious side wanted to save him first...Janus’s destabilization had been Virgil’s fault. He was the one who started it and He had to be the first to end it!

A surprise was waiting for Virgil though, a note stuck to the outside window instructing him to come to the cave on the West side, signed Janus. The timing was uncanny as he stuffed it into his hoodie pocket. Virgil was now alone in the woods making haste towards the obvious trap awaiting him.

Unfortunately, Patton’s sixth sense for tomfoolery kicked in as he suddenly woke up. Roman was snoring, Logan listening to his recorded tapes on scientific studies, and Virgil...nothing. Okay, that’s weird. Usually his Stormcloud liked to fall asleep to the sound of rain or ocean waves. Pat turned the knob to find it unlocked and then to find no Virgil sleeping within. “Oh kiddo.” He whispered, full of disappointment. He flew to the alarm and pressed the button to wake up the others.

“Holy! What, what is it?!”

“Ah! What time is it? Who hit the alarm?”

Patton stood in the hall with his arms crossed in full Dad mode. 

“Virgil’s gone.”

“He’s WHAT?!”

“You have got to be kidding me. H-he didn’t...you know?”

Patton nodded. There was no way it could be anything else. “He’s gone to meet with Janus.”

“Are you sure?”

Just then Pat held up a crinkled note. It was the one Virgil thought he stuffed into his pocket, but it fell out while he climbed out the window. Pretty much Virge had made a lot of mistakes despite thinking he was being careful.

“Shit. I’ll get my gear on.” Roman ran back into his room and Logan followed suit. There was no telling how long it’d been since Virgil had left. They needed to hurry.

\----------------  
 **Many Years Ago in the Mindscape**

“Big bro Jan Jan!” Janus turned around to find himself being tackled by a slightly shorter side.

“Woah! Hey Virgil!” He smiled sweetly. “Be careful running around like that. What if you got hurt?” Virgie only giggled, “You’re such a worrywart Big bro Janus!”

“Well, that is true, I am Protectiveness after-all. I’m here to make sure we stay safe and can protect Thomas when he needs us.” He said as he took Virgil’s hand. “I’m also here as your all’s caretaker my little ball of Curiosity!”

The two used to be so close, just like brothers. Janus was always kind and stoic as he taught and cared for Virgil. He did the same for the other sides as well, since he was the most developed. Morality and Creativity being a little more mature than Virgil, as they all played together. To all of them Janus was like a guardian, despite all being the same age, and they loved him as such, but that did put a lot of pressure on the protective side.

One night, that pressure finally caused him to break. It was late when a strange sound caught his ear. “What was that?” He wondered, getting up from his bed to look down the hall. No one; still there was a slight breeze lingering below his feet. Is a window open or something? A sense of panic started setting in as he ran out to check on the others. Morality? He was sleeping while hugging one of many plushies. Then was Creativity okay? Yep, mumbling to himself about some dream. The last to check on was Curiosity...gone.

The window on the back wall was wide open as the cool night air taunted Janus’s paled face. “Virgil! Virgil, where are you? Please, please come here if you can hear me!”  
Where had he gone? Jan was trying hard to listen to any odd sounds around him, but the heart beat in his chest kept pounding. His eyes watery, ears ringing, why was this happening? Why did Virgil go outside when he’d been told to never leave the house without him? The stress had been building inside Janus for a while now.

His natural need to protect was eating away at him as the pressure grew. The pressure to be the perfect big brother Virgil idolized him for. The pressure to protect his family, protect Thomas, always be there, listen to their problems, and on and on! What about him? Didn’t he matter just as much? When was someone going to protect him, listen to HIM!

“No one ever really listens.” He grumbled. 

* _ **SNAP**_ *

Quickly, Janus turned his head around in the direction of the sound. Running at full speed until he saw Virgil on his knees on the cliffside. What was he doing? “Virgil!” He shouted.

Virgil turned to look at his panicked friend and smiled as he started to get up. Waving his hand around like he hadn’t a care in the world...and that’s when it happened. A strong gust of wind hit, causing the curious side to topple over and begin rolling off the cliff. “NO!”

Without any hesitation Janus jumped down and curled himself around Virgil to protect him as they both fell off the side. This was it; Janus was going to break apart any minute now. He was going to disappear forever. It wasn’t fair...he didn’t deserve this! It was all Virgil’s fault for going out at night, for not listening to his warnings about staying out of trouble. He’d given up so much to care for him, for ALL of them. At that moment something snapped inside of Janus as his body started to grow in size.

He easily filled the space below of the ravine he had moments ago been falling into. The heat and pain was so intense that he fainted, with a tiny Virgil still lying safely under his hand. An hour rolled by, before Virgil stirred awake and began taking in his surroundings. Yellow, warm, and soft? What had he landed on exactly and how was he perfectly okay? From what he could remember he had found a big hole in the Earth and was curious as to what was inside it. Then...he fell into it somehow? The now very confused side held his head as a distant, but familiar voice rang out in his head. Only to then be cut-off by the ground underneath him beginning to move.

“What the…”

He trailed off as his eyes wondered upwards to see a giant with hazy eyes looking down at him. OH SHIT! In a panic, Virgil slid down the side of the giant to hide behind some of the fallen rocks.

  
He clasped his hands over his mouth and started counting down in his head to control his breathing. While the giant rubbed his eyes, none the wiser to Virgil’s stealthy escape.

“Where am I?” He groaned, working his way up to look around. “Some kind of ravine? Whatever, for now all I have is myself and that’s all I need.” Janus smirked as he walked away with a hum. Curiosity, now not so curious making sure the giant was gone before he made his way out and back home. All the while thinking how familiar the giant’s voice was.

\---------------  
 **Back to Current Time**

  
Finally, he was here. The West side caves that Janus was hiding out in and enjoying his freedom ever since he destabilized. Virgil’s nerves started to wear on him as to what this slippery snake had planned for him. Had Jan started to remember his past now that the others' memories were coming back? Or was something else completely different going on?

“Aaaaaahhhhhh” A long groan came from inside, followed by a hiss of pain. The ground shook violently, but Virgil managed to make his way inside. The sounds of discomfort vibrating off the walls until he reached a large opening covered in lights. The interior was quite cozy for a cave. Leave it to Janus to make any location a perfect hide away. “You’re here!”

The greeting snapped Virgil out of his daze and back to the situation at hand. He’d refrained from increasing his size because he hadn’t come for a fight.  
“Deceit. Why did you call me here?” Virgil lacked information. He needed to see what Jan knew...what he remembered.

Janus bared his fangs with a toothy grin as he picked up his little guest. Luckily, no squeezing this time around. “Oh my dear little Virgil. Why do you think I called you here? I know you’re the one doing this to me.” This? What was he on about?  
“What do you mean?”

  
The smile vanished as his grip tightened around Virgil making it hard to breath. “Ah...stop please...Janus.” Suddenly, relief as the hand holding him relaxed. “That! Why are you calling me that?”

Virgil was still dazed from the lack of oxygen. He began wiggling his way out of the giant’s hand and rapidly began increasing his own size to match Jan’s. “You mean Janus. That’s your name.”

“No, no, no! My name is Deceit!” He banged his hand against the cavern wall as tiny items on shelves fell to the floor with a crash. “I don’t know who you think I am, but this is who I am!”

“No, that’s not true. Your name is Janus and you’re one of us. A side...a light side. There is no dark side Jan. Just you and me, and…and your family.”

“Family? Hahaha, what family? You LEFT ME! Remus left me. Everyone’s left...me.” The now sobbing Janus fell to his knees and wailed at the pain of past and present memories colliding inside his broken mind. “I don’t want to be alone anymore.”  
“And you don’t have to be Jan Jan.” Warm hands, familiar hands embraced him in a welcoming hug as he continued to weep.

“I’ve been having these dreams. Where, we’re all together in one house. I’m looking after you all as your big brother. Are these memories?”  
“Yeah, they are.”  
“Why didn’t I remember before then?”  
“It’s my fault. I’m so sorry Jan Jan. I-I was too curious and you got hurt trying to save me. You destabilized and turned into this monster in order to protect me!”

Virgil softly cried into Janus’s shoulder as he held onto him tightly. Fearing he may disappear at any moment. “I remember now. Oh Virgil, it’s alright. I forgave you a long time ago somewhere deep in my heart.”  
“R-really?!” Janus smiled and helped wipe away Virgil’s tears as they both stood back up. “I think it’s time I go back home to my family.”

Right as the two of them started to leave the caves the trio of fashionably late heroes appears on the scene. “Virgil! Oh my gosh Sweetpea are you okay?”

The exhausted giant waved down to his friends to show he was well and good. “Stand back from that scaly fiend!”  
“Roman, it’s okay. He’s started to remember.”  
“Remember? Do you mean to say he’s begun restabilizing?” Logan perked up curiously.  
“Yeah, though he’s not running a fever yet so I’m not sure when the process will st-”

Just then a hot wave started to bubble up inside of Virgil as he toppled over in pain. His face sweaty and pale. Janus was confused until he noticed himself shrinking. “What is this?!”

Between gritted teeth, “You all need to get away from here. I’m not completely sure what’s happening but I know it’s dangerous to be near me right now!”  
The group didn’t ask questions, they trusted Virgil’s judgement as they made their way quickly down the mountain. Meanwhile, Janus was shrinking fast and Virgil was crying out in extreme pain as his body grew rapidly. Soon he had reached his maximum height of 1000 feet, but he continued to grow. What was happening to him?

Once Janus had returned to the normal size of a human he too quickly got to somewhere safer than right next to a constantly growing giant.  
“Janus! How is Virgil? What’s going on?”  
“I’m sorry, I don’t know. I suppose if I had to guess he’s stolen my height and added it on to his own.”  
“He’s adding it on?”  
“Yes, but not in an exact manner. He’s already grown past 1000 feet, but adding mine on he would have stopped at 1070, but he hasn’t.”  
“How big is he going to get then?”  
Janus gulped as he looked back over to the mountain that Virgil’s new size was slowly consuming, “I have no idea.”

Virgil’s body now laid on top of the mountain as he could finally feel himself cooling off. More memories returning to him as his eyes focused onto his surroundings. He had grown to a whopping 5000 feet, nearly a mile high! Virgil quickly spotted the others not too far away as he reached down to grab them up. They were so small he needed to be extremely careful with them. Virgil then laid back against the mountain and smiled. He loved seeing more of his family together again.

  
The others were mesmerized by his tremendous size. Roman and Patton were definitely blushing as they called out to him. “Are you feeling alright now Darling?”  
“Yeah, I feel amazing honestly. Usually, I’m really scared and anxious when I’m so big, but this just feels so right.”

They all knew how much Virgil enjoyed being big and they were happy to see him comfortable, still they had to wonder why this happened. 

“Do you have any idea why this happened to you Stormcloud?” Virgil shook his head. He had no clue. “All I can say is that it was similar to the fever I had before, but it happened a lot quicker, so the pain was more intense.”  
“Then perhaps Janus’s restabilization was a catalyst of sorts.”  
“A catalyst?”  
“A substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself undergoing any permanent chemical change.”  
“Seriously Logan, not really the time for a chemistry lesson.”  
“True, but I think a secondary definition is in order. A catalyst can be a person or thing that precipitates an event. The person being Janus and the event being the increased growth of Virgil.”  
“Well, besides all the science talk...what does that actually help us understand?”  
“I’d need to do some tests and get more data, but my starting hypothesis is that somehow Virgil and his new stable form is linked to those who remain destabilized. That chaotic energy inside the body of someone unstable needs to go somewhere and I believe Virgil’s body has adapted in a way that allows him to absorb it. Thus his increase in stature.”  
“So he eats crazy energy?”  
“....yes Patton, Virgil now eats crazy energy.”

That was cool! Either way, that was one giant down and one to go. Although, for now it was time to head on home. There Virgil and Janus could both rest and in the morning he’d get an earful from Logan and Patton on protocol and house rules for him running away after finding a note from a crazy giant serpent man. Still, a good ending for now.

To be continued.


End file.
